Chapter 17: The Golden Kingdom

The journey to the Golden Kingdom was a long one. The specialists' ship was headed towards the other side of Magix, to the Misty forest where they would find the portal to the Golden Kingdom. The headmistress had warned them that this mission would be like no other, putting each of them to the test. It would make them grow both physically and internally. The specialist and winx had time to converse and to dwell upon all the recent events. Layla especially. They hadn't even rescued Bloom yet, and already there was another threat upon the magic dimension. Tritannus. The trix alone had never been much of a threat. Each plan they came up with usually worked out at first, but backfired in the end due to their own disputes. But whenever they partnered up with someone more resentful, with more hatred inside…things got bad. She remembered the time they joined forces with lord darkar, or with Valtor to kidnap Bloom…heck, they had even used Riven for some time as a messenger, helping them do all their dirty work.

She often found herself wondering what kind of ruler she would be. Of course she wanted to do what was best for her people of Andros, but it was easier said than done. And now that her realm was truly in danger, she felt as though a greater deal of responsibility had been placed over her shoulders. It wasn't the kind of nervousness or pressure one felt in college, when there was an essay to finish or a project presentation. It was the pressure of knowing an entire realm depended on her. And letting them down wasn't an option she was about to consider.

But during the trip she had the most ridiculous idea, could Valtor have anything to do with Tritannus and the trix taking over the infinite ocean? It was all too strange, and too much of a coincidence. Why did this have to happen now that Bloom wasn't around? Why weren't the trix working alongside Valtor anymore but rather with her cousin? It wasn't like them, usually they would go for the strongest enemy, wasn't Valtor stronger than Tritannus? None of it made any sense!

"Winx! We land in approximately 5 minutes", Timmy called.

"This Golden Kingdom sure is far…" Stella muttered. Brandon laughed,

"You´d be amazed at how huge this dimension really is. I´ve never even been to half of it", he said.

"Me either, farthest I´ve ever been to is the resort realm, Magix, and Linphea but that about it", Layla said. Stella´s phone beeped. As she checked it, once again her screen read, "Message from Bishop". She sighed. Didn't he understand she was on a mission? He had probably called her about 10 times today.

"Is that King Radius texting and calling you Stel? Wow he must really be worried about this mission", Tecna said in awe. Stella simply smiled without saying a single word. She didn't want to lie to her friends but she also didn't want to admit what was really happening in front of Brandon.

"Why is your dad so worried? Must be because we´re up against Valtor, huh?" Musa asked. Stella shifted uncomfortably in her seat, and laughed nervously,

"Well yeah, you know... he can be like that sometimes…" Suddenly the ship began descending, until it finally touched the ground.

"Alright girls, here we are" Riven said.

They all stepped out of the ship with looks of bewilderment.

The air was dense. The forest smell was something so pure, so natural…the tress swayed with the soft breeze. Flora closed her eyes and took a deep breathe.

"This place is amazing! You can really feel the positive atmosphere"

"Alright, pixies, I guess you take over from this point", Brandon said. The pixies were the only ones capable of sensing where Red Tower was located, as the portal to the Golden Kingdom was located on the base of the Tower, hidden somewhere amongst the forest.

"We´ll lead the way from here but once we get there, you winx and specialists are on your own", Digit said.

"We can't get too close to the portal winx! It's much too dangerous for us!" Chatta explained. Tecna smiled.

"That's alright, we´ve prepared long and hard for this, we´re ready!"

"So this is what they´re up to…" she thought as she watched from a far. She knew those boring pixies were up to something the moment she saw they´re ship flying high above them. But what could they be doing here?

"Something tells me this has something to do with Bloom…" she thought suddenly. Valtor had to know about this. Tritannus was in over his head with the sole idea of taking over the infinite ocean and acquiring power to notice anything on the sides. If Bloom was found, this could end badly, for all of them. She had to tell Valtor, and soon!

"Diaspro sweetheart, theres something I wish to discuss with you", Miriam said to her daughter as they walked out onto the balcony.

"Of course mother, what is it?" she asked, not really concerned.

"Well, since Domino was restored we haven't held a ceremony to celebrate, and we have yet to organize Daphne´s coronation. But aside from that we must also present you as the one and only keeper of the dragon flame. Normally a celebration like this would have been announced throughout the entire magic dimension", she explained.

"Wait-you mean- all the royals of the entire dimension are coming?" she asked, amazed. She was a royal, but never had she had a celebration so big, being an only daughter, she hadn't had a coronation ceremony and nor would she have one until she was married.

"That would have been the case but…Valtor forbid us to have any contact with outsiders, meaning the celebration would remain solely amongst our realm. I know it's not what you expected, but it's the only way to keep you safe", she said softly. Diaspro smiled forcefully at the redheaded queen. Was that so…? Not if she could help it! Now that she was princess of Domino she would take the most out of it. It was only fair. She would definitely have a ceremony and it would certainly be announced throughout the entire realm…Sky would be there. She would simply have to take matters into her own hands!

"Bloom there's one more thing about the ceremony you should know. As keeper as the dragon flame, there's a certain ritual you must carry out in order to demonstrate your power to our people. They are eager to witness the great power that symbolizes our nation. For that, your powers must be to its full potential. Being the strong young fairy you are, I´m sure you´ll do great", she said, smoothing her daughter´s hair. Diaspro folded her hands nervously.

"Wh-what kind of ritual?" Marion turned to her and placed both hands over her shoulders, reassuringly.

"Your father will begin training you soon. The dragon flame is a part of you are, Bloom. There's no reason to be nervous. As long as it courses through you, as it did in me and the ones before, everything will be alright", she said.

She nodded as Marion pulled her in for a hug. She would be in trouble if Marion and Oritel found out she only had a small portion of the dragon flame and not the genuine and complete source. It wouldn't take them long to put two and two together, and realize she was an imposter. She needed more power, she needed enough power to make the royal family and the entire dimension believe that she was truly the keeper of the dragon flame. If Valtor wouldn't give her that power, than she would just have to take it from Bloom!

"Why don't you attack me Bloom? I´m waiting", Valtor taunted. Training Bloom was certainly interesting. She hadn't had the necessary preparation and yet she was almost at his level. She shot another fire orb with everything she had. Valtor shot his hand forward and captured the orb, and when he opened his palm again it was gone.

"Not bad, but your attacks are only becoming weaker and weaker as we go on. You don't have much resistance, a very big disadvantage on your part", he mentioned casually.

"I guess I'm pretty tired. Can we take a break now? I still don't understand why we´re training so much", she said irritated.

"You´re fighting in my army now Bloom, let's not forget that, shall we? I take nothing but the best. Losing had never been one of my qualities and that's not about to change", Bloom huffed. His army? She never agreed to this in the first place!

"Lose against who?! Who is it you're so desperate to fight against?!"

"I have enemies amongst those who you call friends. Griffin, Faragonda, Saladin…my goal has always been one. Revenge", he paused.

"Griffin. She was on our side Bloom, she fought alongside the three ancient witches and myself and we were invincible! Until one day she made a wrong….very wrong choice. And it's going to cost her. She turned on us and fought with everything she had, together with the company of light. She gave them confidential information. She shared secrets that were never meant to leave the Obsidian…she knew our strategies, our weaknesses! And that was how they managed to defeat us…once. Until the three witches decided to take revenge by defeating and disintegrating the company of light once and for all! It was the downfall of Domino Bloom. What happened that day to your family, you owe it to her",

Bloom stood there, oblivious. How much more would she have to listen to? How much more of the truth was left to uncover…it all felt like a nightmare, and if it was she was desperate to wake up.

"Ms. Griffin had nothing to do with it! She may have had a dark past but she just wanted to change, she didn't-"

"Defend her all you want, Bloom, but in the end we both know you want revenge just as much as I do! If Griffin was such a good person, don't you think she would have preferred the well-being of her new friends instead of only thinking about herself?! She knew the ancient witches would seek revenge! Griffin herself had worked side by side with them and she knew exactly what they would do! But still…she did nothing to avoid it! If only she had stayed in Obsidian like she was supposed to, her friends wouldn't have suffered the way they did! Open your eyes Bloom! A lot of the people you care about claim to be good people, but there's no way for you to know for sure. So you choose to believe what you see on the surface. You don't know a thing about life…" he said, despicably. How could such a powerful being be so naïve? Her powers, her abilities, they would all go to waste with that attitude. It was obvious she didn't know a thing about the real world, she didn't see what was right in front of her! His first step to revenge, would be showing Bloom off to Faragonda, rubbing in her face the great power she let go to waste.

"If you really want me to stay here then stop it! I don't want to hear anymore! I don't believe you!"

"Is the truth too much for you to handle? Can you only just begin to understand what I´ve felt all these years?!" he yelled. Because he didn't understand how this girl could be so fragile! She was a warrior, and yet his enemy had turned her into nothing more than a fairy…a pixie…Icy was right…

"You´re full of hatred" she spat before leaving the room, but Valtor followed right behind. Refusing to leave her alone.

"And you´re not? Tell me Bloom, Why can't you stand Princess Diaspro?"

"Enough about Diaspro!"

"Because you hate her, admit it Bloom! You and I are more alike than you want to admit. Diaspro took Sky from you, and Griffin took my mentors away from me! She dishonored our coven!" Bloom whirled around suddenly, making Valtor stop abruptly, nearly bumping into her.

"Enough!" she said angrily. "Diaspro hasn't taken anything from me, did you hear me?!"

"Griffin killed your parents…" he whispered, leaning his face closer. Bloom closed her eyes, the images of Domino being destroyed, people running, screaming for help….

"Ahhgg!" She shot an attack as strongly as she could. She was tired of this! He wanted to turn her against everyone! He couldn't possibly be telling the truth! And if he was, she needed to hear it from someone she truly believed in…she needed to return to Magix! She had to escape this place!

"You don't know anything!" she screamed angrily, as she fired once more. But she had been so worn out that he easily dodged her attacks or absorbed them. He began walking closer to her, despite her numerous efforts to attack him. He started chanting words very quietly as he came closer.

"What are you doing?" she asked, bewildered. But he didn't stop. He continued saying strange words, definitely not in English. Suddenly her vision was hazy, and she felt lightheaded. And then darkness….

Someone was banging loudly against the cabin door as Valtor carried Bloom to her bedroom and set her on the bed carefully, placing a quilt over her sleeping figure. He rubbed his temples.

Again, those annoying witches….

And yet he couldn't seem to make himself move. He sat on the edge of the bed, removing a couple of bright red strands of hair from Bloom´s face. Instinctively, he began caressing her face softly. He hadn't realized until then the dark circles under her eyes. This was getting to be too much for her, that much he could tell. But he couldn't let her go. No matter how much pressure he had to lay on her, she had to withstand it. She had to become strong. Although secretly even he was beginning to contemplate just how much more she could take. The training they had done was nearly the toughest his mothers had given him. And he took it just fine. But there was a single and significant difference. He was dark, and Bloom was pure. And part of the training and power he had received, always came with darkness. And his darkness was too much for Bloom. They had the same source of power...and yet that same power they shared was hurting her.

The loud banging on the door continued. He groaned and made his way to the door.

He opened it almost anxiously.

"What is it this time?" he asked in a serious tone.

"If you knew what I came here to tell you, you´d be a little more grateful and a little less hostile towards me", Darcy said, smiling cynically.

"Darcy? Interesting new look", he commented. The second sister had a much darker shade in her outfit and hair, not to mention she had dark makeup surrounding each of her eyes.

"Courtesy of Tritannus, you should see my new powers" she said flipping her hair back carelessly.

"Whatever you came to say, it better be important" he said hurriedly. His patience was wearing out with these witches. Darcy rolled her eyes.

"What are you doing here anyway? Tritannus forget about you too?" he smirked.

"Not at all, I got a little bored of the ocean life, no matter how maleficent it is. So I decided to hang around Magix for a bit and see what's new. And you´ll never guess what I saw", Valtor raised his eyebrows, expectant.

"The winx and those annoying specialists are on the other side of Magix, Misty Forest. I happened to hear them talking about finding some Red tower to get to the Golden Kingdome…any idea why?" Her last sentence suddenly caught Valtor´s attention.

"Golden Kingdome…ha! So they´re paying Arcadia a visit? They must want…" he stopped abruptly as he focused on the current revelations.

"What?" Darcy asked, not understanding.

"The Golden Kingdom is home to many powerful and rare magical artifacts…" he said, more to himself than to her. She pushed her glasses upward, and crossed her arms across her chest.

"So what? No magical artifact can be strong enough to defeat us! Especially not you!"

"There is one…."

"What?!"

"The water stars…we have to stop them". Darcy smiled.

"I thought this day would never come. I´ll talk to my sisters. With our new powers I´m sure we can take them down!"

The winx made their way through the forest, following the pixies. Suddenly, there was a sound behind them, as if something…or someone…had jumped down from a tree.

"Did you guys hear that?!" Stella exclaimed, frightened.

"Don't worry sunshine, as long as we´re here, no one is going to hurt you!" Brandon said, standing in front of Stella and pulling out his sword.

"Guys maybe it was just some creature. We are in a forest after all", Timmy said. Tecna nodded.

"Timmy´s right, I think we´re all going paranoid",

"We have to be careful, this forest is huge and we don't know what creatures may be lurking around" Sky said, also on high alert, his sword in hand. They kept moving forward, fearfully.

"Guys, I sense another presence, and it's not one of us!" Lockette shrieked.

"Maybe we should split up?" Musa offered.

"No! Definitely not! Splitting up isn't wise if we don't know what we´re up against. It's too dangerous", Riven told her. Musa rolled her eyes. Another sound made them all turn and look in different directions.

"Whose there!?" Layla yelled.

"If this is some kind of joke, it isn't funny!" Riven yelled. Suddenly Layla began attacking in all directions, not caring where her attacks landed, until….

"Aghh…!" A figure fell from above, from one of the trees probably… and Layla recognized him immediately.

"Its….you!" she exclaimed, astounded

"Hey there, again…" Stella said, awkwardly.

"Princess…forgive me", he bowed.

"Layla? You know him?" Sky asked, standing by her side protectively.

"Stella? You too?" Brandon asked, slightly jealous.

"We do" Layla answered.

"He´s…Ophir…"

Hey guys! Sorry for the delay! I´ve had a tough week :( Hope you like this chapter, not much drama but it was necessary for the story, next chap will be better! Its Christmas vacation and I´ll have more time, meaning more Bishop/Stella/Brandon, Bloom/Sky, Bloom/Valtor and more! Please R&R!