Heey, people. I'm so sorry for the delay, college has kept me occupied all weekend and I also had a French test today. Thanks so much for the people who reviewed the first chapter, it really means a lot to me. Anyways, this chapter's kinda boring, but there are some important things. The story will truly begin in the next two chapters and be ready for some plot twists. Hope you enjoy and, as usual, read and review!
"What Have You Done?" Flora looked at the headmistress with eyes just as wide.
"I.. I'm not sure." Her voice shook and she felt like an idiot as her mind became clearer and she realized what she had done. She had taken the darkness. But what exactly did that mean? Miss Faragonda shook her head as she muttered something and everyone stared between her and Flora.
" Okay. Okay. The Winx will come with me to Alphea. " She announced and then looked at Morgana and Nebula. " Will you be okay handling this?" The blue haired fairy queen nodded as Morgana stood up from where she had been sitting with her family and walked over to Nebula.
The Winx stood there looking at Miss Faragonda still in shock over what had just happened, until the Headmistress urged them to transform so that they could teleport themselves to Alphea. They did so, but Flora didn't move. Her eyes were glued to someone before her, sure that she was seeing things. Only when Helia held her hand did she move. "Hey, it's okay." He said when she jumped, not realizing he was there. " You need to transform now, we're going to Alphea." He told her and she looked at him fearfully. She was afraid of using magic, she felt like something would go wrong if she did. Before she could explain that to him, Miss Faragonda came to them. "I don't think that's a good idea for her to use magic. I'll use my own to teleport you two." She said and then the couple was surrounded by bright magic. Once it vanished, they found themselves at the Headmistress' office at Alphea. Flora decided that she didn't want to face her friends, so she walked towards the window. She could still feel them looking at her, though. Probably thinking that she had lost it and she couldn't blame them. She sighed and looked outside. The night sky was just as beautiful there as on Earth, but she felt like it was suddenly darker. Everything felt darker.
" Yeah, I remember feeling like everything was darker. It was strange." She didn't look at the person who owned that voice and tried to ignore it. Thankfully, a different voice spoke and she was able to.
"What's going on?" It was Sky. He had been lying on the red couch, still unconscious, until then. He sat up quickly and looked around the room, confused by the clear change of location. "Sky, you're awake." Bloom said as she hugged him tightly. Flora could see the worry vanish from her eyes as a relieved smile came to her face. The blonde haired specialist smiled at his girlfriend before looking around the room once again. "Are we at Alphea? Why? And what the hell happened?" The others didn't say anything, their eyes turned to her as they waited for her to explain what had happened, what she had done. But she was too busy trying to ignore the voice that she was sure only she could hear.
"He was always so clueless, that's why he failed in the end. You better hope that your boyfriend isn't as dumb as him." The girl who spoke looked like Bloom. In fact, she was so similar to the fire fairy that they could easily pass as twin sisters. But there was something different about her, something dark, evil. Her clothes showed it well. Instead of the bright blue dress with heels of the same color that Bloom was wearing, this person had chosen a black long dress, beautiful, but definitely not fit for a fairy. She kind of looked like a witch. But the main problem about her was that it seemed as if no one besides Flora could see her or hear her, so the nature fairy was sure that she was imagining things.
"Why aren't you saying anything? What happened?" Sky's voice once again pulled her from her thoughts. This time, though, it seemed the others realized she wasn't going to say anything.
"We came to Alphea because Miss. Faragonda asked us to. I think that she wants to tell us something. " Tecna spoke up. Then it was Musa. "I hope she has an explanation for this, because I'm lost." The others nodded in agreement, none of them understood what had just happened.
"Well, that's enough of small talk. It's time to begin." This time, Flora actually looked at her. Fake Bloom seemed happy, no, ecstatic. Whatever was going to happen, she seemed to enjoy thinking about it.
"Begin what?" Her curiosity took the best of her and she asked the strange figure. Once again all looks were on her as her friends tried to understand what she was doing. "What are you doing?" Musa asked and there was fear in her eyes as she looked at her best friend. Flora knew they were probably thinking that she had lost it and she couldn't blame them, she was starting to believe it was well. But before she could answer Musa's question, Miss Faragonda appeared. She looked at her students, seeming to be in thought. Then, as she looked at Flora, she shook her head.
"Flora, my dear, do you know what you did?" Her tone was stressed, worried, but not reprehendfull.
"As I said before, I'm not sure." The nature fairy answered. She was getting frustrated, she wanted answers to what was happening to her. "But I sure would love to know." She was surprised by how she sounded. Her usually sweet tone had suddenly vanished and when she spoke, her voice sounded cold and threatening.
"Wow. Never thought I'd see the day that such a sweet fairy like yourself would become so cold. Guess you might not be the wrong choice, after all." Fake Bloom was laughing in delight, but Flora was terrified. So were her friends. Helia looked at her in disbelief, never had he heard her sound like this. Miss Faragonda shook her head once again. She walked over to the desk and sat down, looking more tired and older that they had ever seen. She sighed before looking at them.
"Will you please sit? I have something to explain to you." At her words a few chairs and a sofa suddenly appeared and the Winx and specialists sat down. Flora remained where she was, still thinking. "Please, Flora. " The headmistress pleaded and she walked towards a red chair in between Helia and Aisha, but before she could sit, Fake Bloom spoke again.
"God, you're a slow one, aren't you? I already said that it's time to begin." This time the figure walked towards her and she found herself unable to move, as if she was being held by an invisible force. "Flora, why can't you just sit? Stop acting like a crazy person!" Stella complained and her friends cast the sun fairy stern looks. Of course they were all thinking she had gone crazy, but they weren't going to voice it. Flora ignored her, and she tried to move, but she was glued to that spot. "What's going on?" She looked in confusion at the red head that was walking towards her. "I don't have time to keep explaining things to you. We have to go now and since you're not following my lead, I guess I'll have to force you." There was an evil glint in her eyes and her evil smile turned into an angry expression.
Flora stood there in a daze, her breath caught in her throat, frozen. Then she saw Helia stood up and he slowly and unsurely took her hand. He could see that she was frightened, so he gave her a warm smile. It was strange, almost miraculous, how as soon as his hand touched hers, Fake Bloom suddenly disappeared. The invisible barrier that was trapping her was gone and she was able to move. She cast him a look in hopes that he would understand that she was thanking him and they both sat down. She ignored her friend's concerned looks and turned back to Miss Faragonda. "So, can you please explain to me what's going on?" The headmistress nodded and she stood up and walked towards the bookshelf. Grabbing a red book, she sat back down.
"The first thing you need to know is that the secrets I will reveal to you now haven't been told for reasons you will soon understand. So, I ask you to remain quiet while I tell you the story." They nodded their heads, looking confused and anxious. Bloom, however, didn't. "Does this have to do with what I've told you recently?" It was her turn to be the center of attention, but she ignored it and kept looking at Miss Faragonda. "Yes, Bloom. I'm afraid it is related to the dreams you've been having."
"Dreams? What dreams?" Musa asks and Tecna, Aisha and most of the specialists looked at the red head in confusion. Stella and Sky shared significant looks, which lead the others to believe that they already knew what was being discussed.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys about it before. I was going to wait until this was all over." Bloom said and Flora laughed bitterly. "I guess we both made that mistake, then." She told her friend as the others tried to understand the meaning of her words. "What do you mean?" Bloom asked, confused. Flora sighed, tired and angry with herself for waiting this long to tell them about the prophecy. "I had something to tell you and I decided to wait until the battle was over. I was gonna do it tonight, but now it's too late." This seemed to catch the headmistress' interest.
"What is it that you had to tell them, Flora?" She asked the brunette, who looked at her expectant friends and sighed once again before explaining. "Weeks ago I was given a warning and I don't know why, but I've sort of ignored it. "She looked at her lap, feeling embarrassed and guilty. She felt a hand reach for hers and lifted her head to see those beautiful blue eyes staring into hers. Unlike her friends, there was no anger or fear on his face, only the undying love he always showed her. "It's okay, Flora. This happens sometimes. But what is it that you forgot to tell us?" He asked her so gently she felt like crying. How could he be so nice to her when she was acting like a crazy person? How could he still love her when she was being so cold?
She felt tears running down her face and then she was sobbing uncontrollably like a child. Her friends sent her pitiful looks that she ignored as she buried her head in Helia's shirt. She felt his arms wrap around her as he pulled her closer and whispered comforting words in her ear. Through the silence that filled the room while she cried, she could hear fake Bloom complain, having suddenly returned. "So emotional... That's not what I needed. Como on, cry-baby, you need to be strong right now or else you'll never survive." Flora pulled her head from his chest and looked at those beautiful blue eyes. He was smiling at her, a small but gentle smile. She dried her eyes and sighed as she prepared to tell them the truth. She knew that she needed to do it before she lost it due to the voices she was hearing.
"Remember when I went to Limphea to visit my parents?" She kept looking at him, but she sensed that the others had nodded their heads. "Well, I didn't visit just them. I was asked there by the Sage." There were exclamations of surprise and confusion as she said those words.
"Asked by the Sage? Why didn't you tell us?" Tecna asked and she noticed that the pink haired fairy was shaking her head in disbelief. "Everyone on Limphea knows that you must not tell anyone if you're asked to see the Sage. It must be kept in the utmost secrecy." She answered firmly.
"And what did the Sage tell you? Did she share any visions with you?" Miss Faragonda asked her and she was surprised to learn that the headmistress was aware of Astrid's gift. "So you do know about her visions of the future?" She asked back, trying to get confirmation that she had heard right. The headmistress nodded. "Of course. Being a close friend of Astrid's, she told me about her gift a long time ago."
"Wait a second. Are you saying that the Sage of Limphea is able to see the future?" Tecna asked and Flora was sure that she was wondering if such a thing could be possible. "Yes, but it's a secret, so you can tell no one." Flora answered. After they sworn not to tell anyone, the subject was back to said visions. Flora then explained to them how Astrid had told her that the darkness would be released and one of them would be in danger and the only way to save them would be to contain the darkness. They were mad at her for not telling them about the visions, but said that she would be forgiven. And then Sky asked the question they were all thinking. "But what exactly does it mean, for one to contain the darkness?" Flora looked expectantly at the headmistress, who sighed before answering. "I'm afraid that's a bit complicated, Sky. In order to explain to you, I'll have to first bring back the dreams that Bloom's been having for the past few weeks." All eyes were on Bloom as they waited for her to explain.
"Okay. So, those dreams, it's like I'm living a different life or that I'm a completely different person. They feel more like memories than just simply dreams. I didn't think much about them, because we were too focused on defeating the wizards, but they did started to bother me, so I decided to talk to Miss Faragonda about them. She told me that she would tell me more about it after our victory party, and I guess now it's time." As she heard that, Flora let out a gasp that caught everyone's attention. Her eyes went back to Fake Bloom, who had been sitting quietly on the red couch that had been previously occupied by Sky, legs and arms crossed and a bored expression on her face. Maybe she wasn't hallucinating after all. "Flora? What are you looking at?" There was fear in Stella's voice as she asked and the others went back to looking at her like she was crazy. "I know it's just an hallucination, but I think it might be related to Bloom's dreams. I just don't know how." She was confused, but she could feel that she'd gotten close to the truth.
"What is it that you see, my dear?" Miss Faragonda asked fearfully. "I see someone that looks that just like Bloom, except for the outfit. But she's pure evil, I can feel that. She keeps telling me that we have to begin something." Their eyes widened at this and it seemed that there's no doubt they thought she'd lost it.
"Well, this is indeed interesting. But I'm not sure whether it's good or bad." There was silence for a few seconds as the headmistress seemed to be lost in thought and the Winx and Specialists kept staring at Flora. Helia once again took her hand and held it, trying to transmit comfort and love. She knew that he was trying to tell her that he believed in her.
"Okay then. I guess now I must begin to tell you, because we've got a bit problem." The headmistress scared everyone by suddenly speaking and 11 pairs of eyes stared at her. She then began telling the story that would change their lives forever.
Okay, so this is it. Next chapter will be the revelation you've been waiting for. But don't worry, the story's far from over. Did you like the Flora and Helia scenes? Are there any couples you want to see more? And what did you think of this chapter? Tell me all about it in your reviews. Next chapter will come between Wednesday and Friday.