Revised: Winx Club Eternix Part 1 Chapter 7: Remembrance
Aisha told her friends about water rocks of Andros years ago: one of the anomalies of the dimension. They float in place above the ocean with no support under or above water. Red and grey hydrangeas grew on its surface with their stems attached to the floating rock. During Valtor's reign, these flowers dried up due to the pollution of the sea water and all management of them were temporarily halted. As the ocean water reverted to its sapphire color, the plants were attended and flowers grew once more. Flora picked up one of the hydrangeas, salt water shifted and poured down her hands, lower arms and to her dress. The gardeners weren't bother by her doing so, probably due to how much were on the mass and the rocks ahead. "It's a shame this types don't grow in Limphea." Flora placed the hydrangea in a conjured jar and sent it off to her study.
Musa masked the sun rays from her face as Stella basked in their glow, welcoming the vitamin D. The blonde held shades for the Music fairy. "The sun isn't for everyone, darling." Musa stuck out her tongue and snatched the shades.
Tecna fiddled with her device. Her PDA marked that this was Aisha's location, but the coordinates for the depth of her location were unknown. That was the last time hack into someone's phone cross-dimensionally, she thought lifting her right foot, the salt water wetting the soles of her wedges. Bloom looked to her left and right. From where they stood, the Andros palace was a good 'hundred feet. More water rocks surrounded the estate and the girls, enough so they could leap to the castle, though it would've been through Aisha's coaxing and the majority of the fairies would reach the castle sopping wet. The next direction was clear ocean, some wooden boats sailing, Androsian naval fleets, a yacht in the distance and boats by the neighboring rocks. "It doesn't seem like Aisha's here."
"I'm not wrong about this. The hack either should or shouldn't work and it's working."
"Maybe a miscalculation." Tecna huffed, turned and walked around the rock mass. Bloom's eyes narrowed. There was no reason for her to be upset for a mistake, but to ignore her for a comment? The redhead rolled her eyes.
Stella waved at the gardeners asking them if they could get a lift. "Only if you guys are stopping by the castle," she said with a smile.
The amount of guards both human and merperson positioned through the castle showed events of before still lingered with the citizens of the realm. The payoff for the traumatic experience strengthen the bonds between the Solarian kingdoms and began one with Domino and others across the magical dimension: the reason why the King wasn't here. He had to attend the Magix counsel to renew and establish treaties. The Queen was in his place, taking care of the political responsibilities of her husband as he left with one of the major responsibilities involved the rise of pirate fleets. She greeted the young women when they entered the throne room. "Good afternoon, Winx."
The girls waited for her to talk to what looked like high ranking officials and people of power. Most were polite with the young women, one asking to shake their hands and all left as quickly as they came, the Queen requested for some time to breathe and sent the guards that watched over her to other priorities.
"Good afternoon, Queen Niobe." Bloom started. She didn't stall her request, telling the Queen they came to look for her daughter and gave her the minimal detail that something happened at Alfea.
Niobe looked down at the floor. She crossed her arms and lick her bottom lip. "She went to visit Nabu," she said sharp and quickly. The ladies said were quiet as Niobe took her a moment of a collected thought. She signaled the girls to follow before she hiked the skirt of her dress and sped walked through the castle. Androsian soldiers and castle workers parting out of their majesty and the Winx way. The Winx hurried behind the queen, even in heavy garbs and heels she walked faster than the increase speed than the girls. They walked through a hallway leading to with no lock and knob. Niobe waved her hand, the door opened slowly.
"This is one of the entrances to his resting place. His family has access to the second entrance. We've decided that this would be his proper resting place. The Queen exhaled. "Come now."
~O~
From the castle's entrance it led down a narrow steep spiral of stairs. The steps were stable to some extent: pieces of rock broke off, thankfully not big enough to injure or kill someone but were slippery during their descent. The stairway ended on a rocky floor with four caves. Niobe led them to the eastern cave, the area widened the deeper the entrance followed. The Music fairy's body tingled when she spotted the closed caskets and tombs. She tapped Flora before crossing her face away and Stella noticed and reflexively screamed. Niobe placed her figure on the blonde's lips, mentioning that the catacombs were not the ideal place to lay a live body, but they had to make due.
Flora and Stella agreed, both sharing the conflicting powers of life and vitality to the death and darkness around them. They both felt a little tired, though by their Enchantix stage their darkness problems was greatly diminished. For Musa, the life of sound in technically area of eternal silence, added that in the back of her mind her experience with life and death. The sudden sounds made her flinch. While the areas were lit enough for them to see, Bloom lit a small flame in her palms. The energy from it helped Flora and Stella's wooziness. Tecna used the flashlight on the back of her PDA to observe the unlit areas. The pungent smell of cavern sea water and rotting fish added to the stuffiness of the environment.
Beyond their point of walking, the all tombs were open. The mummified remains of the former beings either hand their arms crossed to their chest or pelvis, their skin decayed to the dust that surround them and bones collapsed under the garments they worn into the afterlife, all washed out in color and broken down by time.
"Oh that's a corpse. Yep a corpse," Stella said when Tecna flash her light on one of the open burials. The skull and jaw dislocated, covered in webs. The gorgeous blue silk charmeuse gown in the coffin eased her scare, for the hole-ridden, dirty and fragile state it was in at least they were buried in retro style and the jewels she planned on bring were mostly intact. Musa cursed at the blonde while Flora shuttered. Niobe eased the girls and told them to advance forward.
The six stopped in a circular room well lit. Grass and exotic flowers flourish on the ground. The fairy of Fluids kneeled a tomb, her head resting in her hands.
"Aisha!" The Sun fairy ran to her Winx member pulled her in a hug. The other Winx followed Stella's lead instead of Musa, whom stayed by Niobe side and both slowly walked to Aisha.
Musa spied the burial: a glass case marvel pulled straight from a tall tale. Nabu laid still in a long sleeved white and gold version of his wizard robes. His unbraided curls neatly fall on his pillow, his arms crossed on his chest with his hands above his staff and Madonna lilies surrounded his body. Musa stepped back from the casket. "You can wait outside if this becomes too much," whispered Niobe. Musa shook her head, but remained tense.
"Stand Aisha. You'll ruin your pants if you keep kneeling."
"Only if she feels comfortable standing, Stella."
"Flora, she'll feel comfortable when she stands." Stella pulled Aisha up slowly. "There we go."
Niobe was on the verge of speaking to her daughter when the sound of heels clacking on stone trailed into this burial ground. "I-I'm sorry..." a quiet voice said from the opening. The royal bowed. "I came to send a prayer for my son. I would leave if I am a bother."
Aisha moved her arm from Stella's shoulder and her eyes widen, focusing on Nabu's mother. Her involvement of the family quickly left as it came in Aisha's perspective. She seen her a few times, but not since Nabu's condition. Now Aisha was staring at the woman that gave birth to the man and his mother's watching the girl whom was responsible for his state.
The fluid fairy closed her eyes and turned away, her lip quivering. "I-I'm sorry..." The princess mumbled.
"When Nabu was born, I always tried my best to keep him protected. His father and I were scared for him, a mix of our love and we knew how the world works. We tried to prevent him from danger, sent him to the best schools in Andros so he can grow to be a man of wisdom and esteem. He rebelled, occasionally running away but he was a good son. When we heard the he was the top candidate to take the princess's hand in marriage, I'd never felt so much safety for him, but he ran away again and that ended up delayed the engagement."
Her eyes lowered. "But...was the first time I've seen him genuinely happy with another. I let him do what he wanted for a change: hang out with people we didn't approve of, using magic in ways he shouldn't. I only approved because I knew once he got married, all of this rebellion will end. He told us the exciting quest you all had and was excited at the opportunity for joining the Winx on a special mission. It was dangerous, but the smile he had on his face made me feel that everything was okay."
The woman walked to Nabu's burial and stroked the glass case. She stared deep into her son's motionless face. "The day he came back home destroyed me. He felt cold...no matter how much I shook him, no matter how many esteemed healers we've sent to awaken him, he didn't move. He wouldn't open his eyes. He wouldn't hold my hand. He wouldn't give me the reassuring smile." Her eyes narrowed. "...And I hated you for taking away my son..."
Queen Niobe grabbed Aisha's hand and pulled her close. "I want you to know...we all have done the best we could to revive your son. Healers from Earth and across the dimension tried to break the dark magic place on your son and my former son-in-law. We all understand your sorrow," Niobe said.
"That doesn't make me feel better! Why him!? Why did he have to sacrifice his life to protect everyone else? Why should he be the one sleeping instead of the one that brought him here? Why should he be sleeping with the dead like he's one?"
"Nabu was a noble warrior. He-"
"I don't care what he was or what he has done, it doesn't bring him back! And I blame each and every single one of you!" She pointed at the Winx and Niobe, shaking and sobbing terribly as she did. "It should have been you all instead of him in slumber! Especially you, princess!
...But...but... I thought about what Nabu would think of me now... H-he wouldn't be happy at me screaming at the love of his life. He'd want me to...forgive you...for Nabu, I forgive you. I hate what you've all done to him, but for him I forgive you..." She collapsed and pounded on the glass.
The royal's sobbed echoed bounced from the ceiling. The Queen apologized again but the woman continued. Niobe told the girls to leave, to give her some privacy. Aisha kept looking over her shoulder, pass the sobbing royal until the light from the resting place faded as they walked out of the catacombs.
I had a bit of a ruff semester. Lots of assignments piled up and no room for editing or Nano, but bam here's another chapter.
I'm not surprised that Rainbow didn't elaborate further into Nabu's state and how it would affect his family. Through season 5 I still believed that Nabu was under a state of suspended animation and not dead since I'm hard headed, but as the seasons passed, I was glad that they didn't bring him back (due to the changes with the show.) Part of me while the couple's moments at times nauseated me they were OTP and no amount of Roy or Nex could change that. Aisha won't be in this state for long, trust me, but for some getting to the lowest low after the loss of a loved one should be something worth breaking out of your tough bubble for to mourn. In my opinion, when the love of your life and the person you want to marry (or takes the relationship to the next level, depending on the dub) dies, deciding that going into another relationship in the span of a few months doesn't make sense. Especially from a character that had her own issues with making friend with the Winx.
Next Chapter: The strength for a final opportunity can come from friends and unusual places.
Later Chapter: Sometimes it requires you to put on your fairest face to overcome obstacles both big and small