A/N: Phew, another chapter. A really long one. And really interesting, if I do say so myself.
As he and Musa entered the room again, a dozen pairs of eyes met theirs, taking in their even more disheveled look, untidy hair and swollen lips.
The first thing they heard as they got in was Sky. He was complaining to the officer in a loud voice and flashing his imperial seal every now and then. "Don't you realize that I was supposed to be here for only one day?" he asked, angrily, "and I had to wear this," he pointed to his suit, and Riven couldn't help smirk. Only yesterday, Nabu and he had laughed about that… Thethought made himscowl. He moved closer to the scene so he could hear what was being said more clearly. He would be anywhere where Sky was getting bullied. Didn't these kind of things usually happen within private and secluded rooms? He wondered, thinking about all the murder mystry books he had read. Still, he wasn't complaining.
"Did you come here with anyone?" asked the officer to Sky. "Yes," he said, flatly. "Her name's Alberta and she's my cousin."
"Where is she now? "
"Got sick of this depressing atmosphere and took off, I think. She didn't say anything to me."
"Does she know who the accused killer, this Jared, is?" asked the officer.
"Never seen him before yesterday. Look here, officer, if you think she is—"
'Be careful you don't run into Jared,' the memory of his utterance floored Riven. Had she known to look out for the; two bit twerp', as they had nicknamed him?
"Call her and tell her," shouted Riven, before he could think it through. He had striven half-way towards the interrogation table, where Sky and the officer sat.
"I don't believe I know you," the officer greeted Riven. Riven ignored him. "Call your cousin up. She probably doesn't know that Jared is the murderer—""Now, innocent until proved guilty," butted in the officer. Sky noted the anxiety in Riven's voice and picked up his phone. It did not ring. The prerecorded message informed him the phone was off. The two silently ran towards the door together, ignoring protests from the officer.
Taking a cue from her impulsive boyfriend, Musa strolled over to him and fixed him with her most charming smile. My boyfriend has gone to find another woman, and I'm helping him do it, she thought, with a twinge of irration.
After hearing she wanted to help give him all the information she could, and explaining her relation to Jared, he asked her to sit, and began his round of questions. He got every detail about Jared from her, and ascertained where she had been the night of the incident.
"Why weren't you at the after party, like your other friends?" 'In other words, did you help Jared with the murder?'
"You seem to have had a disagreement with the bride and ruined her wedding. Was there some reason you didn't want the two to get married? In other words, were you in love with Nabu or did you hate Layla?
""How come you were spying on the bride on the day before her wedding?"In other words, he didn't believe her story about finding the photosinn her bathroom.
"Why did you actually bring Jared all the way for a girl's wedding who he had never met?"In other words, had you pre-planned this murder, or was it a spontaneous act?
The questions came thick and fast. 'Why the heck would I want Nabu dead?' She wanted to yell. 'He would have been more important to me alive.
"If I really had to kill someone, wouldn't it be Layla, instead?" She conveyed this to them in a polite, even voice, to which they replied, How good is your eyesight? How accurate are your spells? In other words…
Musa deftly answered every question with a sense of nervous agitation. She had just wanted to get back to her room and forget everything. After making this request, she was instead informed that her going back would not be possible, either, as Stella's portals had been deactivated. They would all have to spend the night there, for god knows how long, until Jared was found. Images of all her friends in their Winx Club outfits, fighting crime, or at least finding Jared, flashed across her mind.
As she got up, she realized that Sky and Riven hadn't returned yet, and felt the urge to have a massive nervous breakdown right then and there.
As Sky and Riven rushed towards the exit of the room, both men were thinking furiously. Sky tried calling his cousin once again. "We could have brought one of those fairies with us," gasped Riven, "They fly, you know."
Sky grunted. "She's only eighteen, I brought her to this wedding simply because she gets so bored. She's not like other girls. She's different. She loves adventure. Mysteries…" he went on talking, and Riven felt a curious sensation of unity with him, like the way they had felt when they had run towards Layla. Nothing brings two men together like a chick, thought Riven. Or splits them apart, for that matter.
"Do you have any idea where she'd be," asked Riven. "Well, she was on this no-carb diet, let's check the places with food." They headed to the kitchen. No Alberta. They then went to the Wedding venue. No Alberta.
"What makes it so annoying are Stella's portals, "growled Sky, "If not for them, I'd have been able to find her. She can't even use magic." "Like us," Riven replied. He was thinking furiously. Are you sure she hasn't gone back home? I mean, she saw me enter with Musa, I know she did, as she spoke to me before she left. Perhaps she felt upset-"He felt pompous even saying it and Sky's no-nonsense glare said so.
Sky suddenly uttered an exclamation of surprise as he tentatively stepped into a portal. It swallowed him in a second, and then spat him out. Riven was grinning as Sky, looking confused and disoriented, tried to stand up. I wish I had found Brandon, he groaned to himself.
"Well, the portals don't seem to be a problem," laughed Riven, as he tested all of them with his sword, catching it deftly as it spun dangerously towards Sky. "Looks like Musa and I got here just before they were deactivated."
"What did she say, exactly?" enquired Sky.
Riven blushed uncharacteristically. He tried to shape his face into a smirk, but it quivered slightly. "What's it to you, blue boy?" he asked, defiantly.
Sky held his hands up, a bit thrown off by the outrage in Riven's voice. "Alberta, I meant Alberta," he said, quickly, understanding.
"Well," said Riven, recovering from the awkward situation with as much dignity as he could," She said she was bored and this place was gloomy. And she reminded me about Musa and how she had said we had broken up," he admitted. A thought struck him suddenly. "Didn't you say she loved mysteries?"
She could still hear Layla's words as she ran away from her castle, presumably taking the direction the bridal carriage had taken last night.
If I could only see the place it happened, make sure. The coachman. That was who she was hoping to find. She was aware that she might just find him dead, or more likely, the crime squad would have rounded him up somewhere. Maybe she just wanted to see the crime scene, the place where Nabu had been murdered. But it was no use. She knew she just wanted to get away. The sense of guilt was so large, it tore her up inside. Who would have thought it could ever lead to this? It was a chance in a million, but it had happened. And, she, Alberta was responsible.
She could still hear Layla's words as she told the officer about the events of the previous night. Her voice was low and sad. After a few words of encouragement, she continued, swallowing, "as I said, I had this strange feeling of danger, and I was willing him to turn back, when he did. I was relieved, and suddenly-"Her words trailed off.
"Yes," the officer urged her on.
She shuddered. I suddenly found his head on my lap." She now began to speak rapidly," I saw his headless body fall to the floor, and there was blood-" she wiped her dress, as if to clear away imaginary blood, And there was Jared, standing there., with a knife. "She took a moment to breathe.
"Was there blood on this knife?" asked the detective.
"Yes."
"And did he recognize you? Did he say anything?" She nodded. He did. He smiled in a strange, almost sad way. And then he said something about me breaking his heart. I am not sure, exactly. I was in such shock. He called me babe—no, H2o babe. And then he said something about breaking my heart."
"H2o babe? Do you know why he'd call you that? Is it your nickname or something and what is your relation to Jared?"
Layla shook her head. "No one has called me that. Well, I am the fairy of Tides, and…" But Alberta couldn't hear another word. Her mind was reeling with shock. H2o babe. That was what she had called herself. On that online dating site. She had been sure not to give anyone any information about her. She was not stupid, like other girls her age. She had just joined to pass the time when she had been grounded for two months for blowing up a hovercraft. It had just been a little experiment, which might have changed history for ever. Instead, there was a blast and she had been left slightly injured. So, confined to her room, she had looked to the internet to provide her with her next experiment.
Anonymity relieved you of all consequences. If she had anonymously blown up the flying object, she wouldn't be stuck here at home. She would make someone anonymously fall for her. She set down some rules. No personal details. No physical descriptions. No involving friends or family. Or sending any pictures. She would only talk about what she liked, what she thought about events in the news and about her beliefs. Nothing that would give her away. She promised to choose the first request she got. This would make the experiment more creditable, as it would be dependent on chance and not choice. She had found a boy, or at least, someone who claimed to be one. His id was 'JJj'. She had begun the experiment, which she had intended to last for two months.
She hadn't needed those two months. She was sure JJ had been in love with her before fifteen days of online interaction, and was perfectly certain at the end of of one month that this indeed was the case. She mentally ticked the checkbox "Make Someone Fall in Love With You while remaining Anonymous'; and began to wonder if she should simply block JJ or send him a letter of apology, and if so, what reasons she should give for abandoning their relationship,
She had seen the e-invite for Layla's wedding. Sky had mentioned it to her vaguely, and then shown it to her. Alberta was struck by the brilliance of the match, and had suddenly asked her cousin, "Why do people of the same skin colour always seem to choose each other?" Sky had faltered slightly at this unexpected question, and said something vague about families and the media. "Would people fall in love with partners of the same skin colour inevitably, even if they were unaware of this fact when they fell for each other?" She had to repeat her question before Sky ruffled her hair, and replied, amused, "Make that one of your experiments,"
It had been in jest, but he wished he hadn't said anything, as he watched Alberta's eyes light up. "It may be possible if you take me to this wedding with you." They both knew it was just an excuse to get out, but he had agreed. "Though how you intend to carry out this experiment is beyond me," he grumbled.
Matter settled, she had reverted her gaze to the monitor screen. A slow smile came upon her face as she pictured herself in Layla's shoes. "I am getting married, she said, dreamily. That's why I've got to end this relationship."
She began writing, with a slight touch of guilt:
"I know I haven't been straight with you…"
After several more lines, she had sent the e-mail, and then waited, with bated breadth, looking at the monitor screen. As promised, she would delete her profile. But she gave it half an hour, in case JJ wanted to convey some last thoughts. There was a reply in twenty minutes. The reply was as she had expected. The last line, however, caught her eye:
"I won't try to track you down again. But I have been in love with you forever. Please, as my last request…send me your photo."
She was glad because this confirmed to her, in no uncertain terms, that her experiment was a success. She felt bad for not complying with JJ's last request. It seemed mean to her, somehow. And then she had a brainwave. She had used Layla's excuse. She would use Layla's face, too. She cropped one out from one of Sky's digital albums, just her face. She labeled it 'me' for extra emphasis, and attached it to her last reply to JJ. A minute later, she had deleted her profile and had gotten rid of JJ forever.
Or not, thought Alberta, guilt clogging her brain as she arrived at the site. Sure enough, officers were prowling around, looking for clues.
She approached a man in uniform. He was fair-skinned and blue-eyed, not very tall. "Excuse me," she said, trying to hide her breathlessness, "have you found the horse rider?" if only, she thought, she could hear someone else's account of the story. Confirm that Jared had indeed killed Nabu, and used 'H2o babe' and not something else. Layla had been in shock, after all.
He looked at her with surprise. "Yes, he was found dead behind these bushes" he pointed, uncertain if he should be disclosing such information to a stranger. "Who are you?" he added, suspiciously.
"Oh," it was her turn to look startled, "I am here to help…investigate. "
The officer snorted. "Nothing left to investigate. Blood everywhere. A fragment of torn purple, probably from the bride's gown. Some strands of black hair—" "Any other colour?" she enquired, hopefully. If there had been some hair that was not the colour of Jared's, then…
"Alberta!" their voices caught her off guard. She turned to see Sky and—her heart skipped a beat—Riven running towards her.
"They look angry," commented the officer, as he unobtrusively moved away to talk to a colleague.
Sky was shaking her by the shoulders then, yelling something incoherent. She was sure she heard something about irresponsibility and thoughtlessness in there. Riven stood by, silent but out of breadth. He flashed a grin at the two. Alberta's in trouble, he thought, with a smirk. But something about the difference in the girl's behavior caught his attention. He was used to her being cold, rude and sarcastic, aloof and maybe a bit resentful of life in general. Add the qualities of adventure, curiosity and rebellion to the concoction, and you were sure to get a mad scientist, albeit a young and silly one. He hadn't known her for that long, but he would have expected her to push Sky back and storm towards the castle with the air of someone who was not sorry for her actions, and would surely try again whenever the opportunity presented itself.
But she had simply collapsed into Sky's arms with a startled and guilty yelp, and sagged. Sky and him had to half lead; half carry her back to the castle.
"I told you we should have brought a fairy," Riven whispered to Sky. "They can make hippos like this one as light as a feather." He had done this to lighten the mood, perhaps make Alberta smile. He was surprised when she acted as if she hadn't even heard him.
A/N: Ah, finally a twist. I like twists, don't you?