The next day, and Stella still hadn't woken up. But every chance he'd had, Brandon had sat by her side. He didn't say or do much, but it made him feel better if he was with her. That way he could keep her safe. He could make sure she was alright. The rest of the Winx were slowly recovering from their weakness, and were slowly able to do more. Not a lot, but something. They still suffered from tiredness. Palladium said it would wear off soon. Brandon just hoped the same went for Stella.

All the while, he was still worried about his home, about his family. None of the Specialists knew about it either. All he could do was wait for his cousins to arrive later on that day, and then he would get answers about what was going on and about his parents. He hoped with all his heart that they were alright.

Now, as he sat by Stella's bedside, he felt completely helpless. He had so many worries, he was harbouring so much pain, and there was nothing he could do to stop any of it, to make anything better. All he could do was hope. But hope was beginning to wear thin.

He looked down in sadness at Stella's still form. The only movement was the steady rise and fall of her chest. The nurses said she would wake up soon. It had all come from the weakness of losing her magic, and once her body regained its strength, she would wake up and make a full recovery. It was just a matter of time.

A gentle knock at the door caught his attention, and he turned to see Tecna enter the room.

"How's she doing?" She asked.

Brandon stood up, frowning. "Tecna? What are you doing here?"

She smiled. "I'm just here for the night. After I heard what happened I thought the least I could do was come down and see how you all were."

"It's great to see you." Brandon walked towards her and wrapped his arms around her.

She hugged him back, and when they pulled apart she looked up at him, then across at Stella and then back to him. "Still no change?"

Sighing, Brandon shook his head. "Nothing."

"Hey, it'll be okay." She rubbed his arm comfortingly. "You'll see."

Brandon returned to his seat and took Stella's hand, whilst Tecna came and sat beside him.

"I hate to see her like this." Brandon murmured. "But there's absolutely nothing I can do about it."

"That's not true." Tecna argued. "You can be here for her, keep her company. Let her know she's not alone."

He gave her a small smile. Her words were no different to those he spoke to himself every minute of every day.

"So, er, how're the new classes going?" Brandon asked, looking to Tecna in an attempt to distract his wandering mind.

Understanding, Tecna smiled as she said, "They're going alright I guess. It's a lot tougher than I expected at first, with a lot more theory than practical. My brain is being exercised more than my powers, which, after the life I led here, I suppose is a good thing."

"Do you miss it?"

"Of course I miss it. Magic has been such a huge part of my life, its hard to hold it back all of the time."

Brandon nodded absent mindedly, looking back to Stella. "Do you think the girls will be alright without theirs?"

Tecna rested her hand on top of his. "I know they will."

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

Over the day, people came and went from Stella's bedside. The Winx even managed to make it down to see how their friend was getting on. And to all who arrived, Brandon would make the same report: No change. And there wasn't. Stella's condition hadn't improved, hadn't deteriorated, hadn't changed. Whenever he was away from Alfea, no matter how much he tried to focus on his studies and training, he always found his thoughts drifting back to the quiet hospital ward.

As the hours wore on, and the afternoon slowly darkened into evening, Brandon's hopes were low. He sat in between Flora and Aisha, away in a world of his own. A light touch on his shoulder dragged him back to the room.

"Brandon, you're exhausted." Flora spoke softly. "Maybe you should head home for the night? We can stay-"

"No." Brandon cut her off. "Thanks, Flora, but I'd rather stay with her."

"I know, but I'm just thinking of you. This isn't doing you any good."

"I know, and I appreciate it, but I'm not going anywhere, and you're not going to change my mind."

She sighed, looking away in defeat.

"At least go and get some air." Aisha picked up where Flora left off. "It'll make you feel better, and you can come right back."

Flora nodded, looking intently at him.

Brandon frowned, looking at his friends. "Okay. If it makes you two feel any better."

He got up reluctantly, taking one last look at Stella before disappearing through the door.

Making his way through the corridors, he entered the main school and let himself out into the grounds. The early evening air filled his lungs as he walked aimlessly along the path and collapsed down on to a bench. He buried his face in his hands, closing his eyes and letting out a sigh. No matter how much he denied it, he knew Flora and Aisha were right. He was exhausted. Ever since all this had happened, he hadn't slept properly. Most nights he sat up until the early hours of the morning, and the little sleep he did get was disjointed and scattered with nightmares. Nightmares about Stella, about whether she would ever wake up. Nightmares about Xanthia, and what was really going on there. Nightmares about his family, and whether they were even alive...

"Brandon!"

His eyes snapped open. Brandon squinted against the light from the sinking sun, confused. He hadn't even realised he'd been sleeping. Squinting, he saw Helia running towards him from the main building.

"Brandon," he panted, slowing to halt a few meters away from him. "It's Stella. She's woken up."

Relief rushed through him, a new energy coursing through his veins. He leapt to his feet, sprinting past Helia towards the infirmary. He burst through the doors into the corridor, and ran straight to Stella's ward. He flung open the door, breathing heavily.

"Stella..." He breathed.

"We'll leave you two to it." Aisha said, as her and Flora awkwardly shuffled past him out into the corridor and closed the door behind themselves.

Brandon looked at her, and couldn't hide his smile. Stella struggled to sit up, wincing. He went to sit beside her, gently easing her back into the pillows.

"Hey, take it easy." He whispered. "There's no rush."

"I didn't think you'd be here." She replied, frowning up at him.

"Of course I'm here." He laughed. "You needed me, so I came."

Brandon stroked her forehead, combing her hair back from her face. "I thought I'd lost you for a moment there."

Stella reached out and took his hand, smiling. "Well you didn't."

"This whole thing, it's insane." He sighed. "Look at what they did to you."

"What's wrong with us being together?" She whispered, tears stinging her eyes. "What does the universe have against us?"

Brandon frowned. "I don't understand. What do you mean?"

"This whole thing, it's because they don't want us to be with each other!"

Brandon felt a sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"Who?" He asked, his voice low.

"Faragonda. And Saladin." Stella answered, her voice shaking. She took a deep breath and carried on. "Faragonda says she took my magic away because I put my safety at risk. But when I let slip that I'd been with you...she already knew. She knew it all. Because Saladin told her. That's why they took my magic. That's why, when I needed you, when I was stuck in hospital after what they did to me, you had to fight to get leave. They don't care about what we feel for each other. They don't want us to be together, so they're doing everything they can to make sure we aren't."

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

After checking her over several times, the nurses confirmed that Stella was set to make a full recovery, hopefully over the next few days. They said that she would most likely be able to get up and move around like the rest of the Winx the following day, much to Brandon's relief.

However, come 6 o'clock, the visiting hours were over again, and Brandon was forced to drag himself away from Alfea and back to Redfountain to get ready for his cousins' arrival. His stomach churned as Riven navigated the ship towards the college. After so much yearning for the truth, he wondered now if he wanted to hear it. His imagination had wreaked havoc in his head, coming up with the worst possible explanations for what could be happening. But most of all it was churning with anger. He knew something was going on. Why couldn't Saladin tell him the truth? What the hell were they trying to pull?

The ship landed, and Brandon stood to make his way back to their dorm.

"Hey, you okay?" Sky laid a hand on his shoulder. "You haven't said a word since we left, I thought you'd be happier than this-"

The doors opened and Brandon shrugged him off, storming across the grounds.

"Brandon!" Sky ran after him. "C'mon, speak to me. What's going on?"

"I don't know." Brandon spat. "But I plan on finding out."

Sky turned to the other guys, shrugging in defeat. They followed him in silence to their room. Brandon had flung himself onto his bed, arms crossed over his face.

"Why?" He demanded.

"Why what?" Riven shrugged, lazily kicking off his shoes.

"Why would Saladin lie to me? I knew there was something going on."

"Slow down, Brandon, you're not making any sense." Sky sat beside him on the bed.

"This whole thing! I knew it was something to do with Stella and I." He snarled, getting to his feet and pacing the floor. "She told me everything. This punishment, it's for being out with me! Saladin told Ms Faragonda about us. They're trying to keep us apart."

"But why would they do that?" Helia frowned. "It doesn't make any sense. Why you two?"

"I don't know!"

In a fit of rage, he turned and slammed his fist hard into the wall. He winced, flexing his fingers.

"Whoa, Brandon, calm down!" Sky put an arm over his shoulder, lifting his hand up and revealing his bleeding knuckles.

The others stood staring, stunned at his sudden outburst.

"I just don't understand why they're getting involved." He whispered. "I don't know what they have against us."

"Me neither, but I promise, we'll find out." Sky pulled his best friend into a hug.

"I love her, Sky. You know that I can't lose her."

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

"I can't even begin to imagine what it is you're both going through at the moment. But I need to make sure that you realise the situation that we've found ourselves in." Saladin said, looking over his interlaced fingers at the two brothers that stood before him

They were both tall and well built, with dark hair and angled faces. One had a short, neatly clipped hairstyle, whilst the other's was a mess of untamed curls that fell about over the large glasses, behind which his huge brown eyes glistened with tears.

"I know that this is tough-"

"Tough?" The boy with the glasses interrupted, a single tear falling down his cheek. "You have no idea what this is like. One minute, our lives are normal, happy. The next...our father is dead, our mother is missing, and we're shipped over here, where we're met by a crazy old man who claims to understand, but really, all he wants is to tell us about some supposedly desperate situation that he needs our help in."

"Naveen," His brother warned. "That's enough."

"No, Jacob, it's not." He argued. "Now if you don't mind, I'd like to go see my cousin now. Family needs to stick together in times like this."

Saladin shook his head. "I know that you don't trust me, but I have been doing my best to help your family. Brandon doesn't even know what's going on on Xanthia. He doesn't know about your father."

"Why not?" Jacob demanded. "He deserves to know the truth-"

"I didn't feel it was my place to say." Saladin held up his hands for silence. "If he heard it from me...well, let's say he doesn't trust me either. If I was to tell him everything, he wouldn't believe me."

"So let us go and tell him everything!" Naveen replied.

"Let me finish. If you tell him everything, I fear that the events we've tried to prevent will come to pass."

"I don't understand." Naveen frowned.

"Now, don't get angry when I tell you this, but Brandon is currently seeing Princess Stella of Solaria, and has been for the last 3 years now."

"What?" Jacob cried. "The princess of Solaria?"

Distressed, Naveen began to pace the floor of Saladin's office. "Why? How could he betray us like this, betray Xanthia?"

"I said not to get angry." Saladin raised his voice slightly, but still managed to keep his calm tone. "Brandon doesn't know. Neither does Stella. If you simply told him the truth now, you know as well as I do that he will go after Asher about this. And you know what your uncle is like. He won't take kindly to this."

Naveen turned to his brother, his face a mix of anger and suffering.

Jacob sighed in defeat, looking Saladin dead in the eye. "So what is it you suggest we do?"