AN: WELP! This took an embarrassingly long time to write, sorry guys!
Anyway, I've decided to take this story in a slightly different path than I previously intended which I will explain soon, but the first change I made was changing Baltor's name back to his original name-Valtor, because while not nostalgic, I just like the name a lot better.
Anyways, reviews!
darjeelinte: Thank you so much! And absolutely! I'd be honored to receive fanart! You can't PM images through FF but I have a Twitter account; you can send it there! Again, thanks so much for the support :D
.2001: Aw thank you so much! And yes, being frozen for over a decade would surely render anyone powerless!
Oracle Sybil: I'm glad! Hope you like this chapter too :3
Luna Bukara: Hell yes! You, my friend no what's up!
nightmaster000: Not Solaria YET but that kingdom, Stella, and The Trix will indeed be showing up soon!
Guest: Yup! Daphne will be showing up soon and with Valtor in the mix, their conversations will be...interesting to say the least
Videocrazy: Honestly, thank you very much for this review. You gave me something to mull over because the idea you offered is super cool and has some serious potential! I talked with my Winxer friends about it and they agree that a Bastardization Arc for Bloom would be more realistic than a Redemption Arc for Valtor. She won't be completely evil but certainly changed enough that Canon Bloom and she would gasp in horror at each other if they met, lol. So again, thanks!
Anyways, Enjoy!
Chapter Three: Reality Check
"Uh...sir?"
Valtor's eyes fluttered open, and he grunted as the burning sun immediately began searing his irises. Shielding his eyes with the crook of his arm he staggered to his feet, letting out a breath of relief now that the oppressive concrete was no longer bruising his body.
"Sir?" Valtor spared the young janitor a glance before closing his eyes and popping his back. Good Dragon why he thought this was a good place to sleep was beyond him. Never again.
"Sir—"
"What?" Valtor responded irritably, shooting the boy a glare. He squeaked and jumped backwards, fiddling nervously with the broom handle shaking in his hand. "U-um, you're not supposed to be up here? I-I mean here. No question."
Valtor blinked slowly at him before a smirk lazily made its way onto his face. "You're going to do something about that, are you?"
The boy paled, shuffling and fiddling even more with his broom. "N—I mean my boss won't be too happy about people sleeping up here? So…"
"And your boss?" Valtor pressed, tilting his head to the side in false curious innocence. "What can he do about me?"
"I-I-don't—look, man can you just...go?" The boy practically pleaded. "I really need this job."
Satisfied, Valtor stepped back with an amused chuckle and began rolling his shoulder. "Don't you worry, I'll be gone in a moment."
The boy sighed and began glumly sweeping as Valtor contemplated his next move. It was morning, meaning that Bloom's parents owed him a verdict. Whether the answer he desired would be given naturally or through extra subtle persuasion was irrelevant for one way or another he'd get a "yes", especially seeing as how kidnapping would start their relationship on an abysmal foot.
And then there was the dimension he'd take her to first. Solaria was his goal, but going there to steal its second sun in his current condition and with Bloom untrained was basically suicidal. Besides, it would be fairly difficult to explain why he was breaking into places without tipping her off to the "terrorist" part of his infamy.
So his second next goal was to get Bloom to trust him. Trust him so surely and completely that anything he did would have little question or debate attached, and to do that he was going to treat her like the princess she was.
"Wallet," Valtor said, holding out his hand without even looking at the young janitor.
"Uh...what?"
"I need your wallet."
He heard the boy seize his sweeping and ask, "...why?"
Valtor rolled his eyes and turned to the little fool who was giving him a wide eyed deer caught in headlights look. "Isn't it obvious? I need your money. You humans keep it there too, yes?"
"I—sir, are you robbing me?" The boy spluttered.
"Yes. Now give me your wallet so I can be on my way."
The boy dropped the broom and it clattered to the concrete as he began to back up. "No! No, you can't have my—!"
Valtor closed his awaiting palm and crooked a finger in beckoning. Immediately the boy was surrounded in a dark blue outline and sent telekinetically flying towards the wizard with a scream of horror.
Catching him by the front of the shirt, Valtor plucked the dull leather from the boy's front pocket and gave the terrified janitor another smirk. "Thank you for your cooperation," he said before dropping him unceremoniously onto the hard roof and pushing off the building into the air.
Valtor thumbed open the wallet and appraised its contents as he flew over early morning Gardenia. He wasn't very well versed in Earth currency but there seemed to be a lot of bills; it would convert to a nice amount of money in Magix he felt.
Slamming it closed with a single hand he warped the object into limbo to be used later before sighing and appreciating the morning flight.
The wind blew through Valtor's long hair and coat as he cruised over the waking city, taking in deep breaths of fresh air as he did so. He didn't know if it was the years spent freezing in Omega, the planet's atmosphere or even just the act of flying again itself—but goodness the air felt exhilarating.
In the peak of his euphoria, he remembered doing this action side by side with Griffin—she'd loved the early morning air as well hadn't—
And with that his mood was spoiled.
His easy smile became a tense press of his lips and he subconsciously clenched his fists tightly at his side. Oh how he longed to make her pay, to make all of them pay. Griffin, Salidin, Faragonda…
Bloom's house finally came into view below him and Valtor swiftly reigned in his mounting anger as he gradually lowered his altitude and landed lightly on the sidewalk.
Straightening his wine ruffled clothes and hair, Valtor made his way to the small townhouse. He had just mounted the steps and was prepared to knock when the door was flung open.
"Morning, Valtor!" Bloom exclaimed excitedly. Her fiery hair was in a loose messy bun and she wore pyjamas, but despite looking like she'd just got up from bed her jubilant mood seemed to point to otherwise.
"Good...morning, Bloom," Valtor said, mildly taken aback by her energy. "I must confess, I wasn't expecting you to be so—"
"Awake?" Bloom supplied. "You and me both actually; usually I'm not a morning person at all but after last night it was kind of hard to sleep because I was so pumped about magic being real, and me being fairy and literally being offered an apprenticeship by an actual wizard and also apart of me was scared if I went to sleep I'd wake up and it'd all be a dream but you're here and I saw you flying from my window which means it's not a dream aaaand I'm rambling aren't I? Sorry, it's the coffee, coffee makes me super jittery and that plus all these revelations is just—do you want coffee?"
Valtor blinked his wide eyes slowly at the redhead before him before clearing his throat and regaining his composure. "I don't believe I've tried Earth coffee before, why not?"
Bloom smiled warmly and stepped aside, allowing Valtor entry to her house before she shut the door behind her and leading him towards the kitchen.
"So, question. Is Harry Potter an actual wizard or is he still fictional?" Bloom said as Valtor took a seat and she poured coffee from a heated coffee pot into a pastel blue mug. "Also fairytales, are those actually a part of fairy history? Could I meet Tinkerbelle one day? I've always wanted to meet Tinkerbelle!"
Bloom placed the steaming mug before Valtor and he was just about to respond before she held up her hands and said, "Wait hold on! Let me come back." And with that she darted out the kitchen and up the steps.
Well, her enthusiasm would certainly make things considerably easier. Insistent rambling aside he counted this as a win.
With a self satisfied smile, he took a sip from his mug and immediately gagged at the taste, coughing and spluttering out the bitter liquid. What in the name of—?! Humans drank this? Willingly?
"Okay, I'm back!" Bloom called, carrying a pink mug with a crescent print in one hand and the fairy book she'd shown him last night in the other.
She plopped down onto the seat across from him and flipped through the book until she reached a page. "Do fairies have a supreme ruler? Like The Fairy Queen or Fairy King?"
"Not everyone follows them anymore but a select faction; the fey do," Valtor responded, opening the nearby sugar pot and plunking a sugar cube into the coffee. "Painfully backwards, don't subscribe to their way of thinking."
"Cool! Okay, next question—"
"Bloom?" Vanessa's voice called.
The duo turned to find Mike and Vanessa trudging down the steps. "What are you doing up, kiddo? It's seven a.m…." Mike's voice trailed off when he and his wife saw Valtor at the table, dropping five more sugar cubes into his coffee.
He raised his cup to Bloom's parents. "Good morning. Sleep well?"
"Oh my G—it wasn't a dream…" Mike said through his hands as he covered his face and groaned.
"Hey, Mom and Dad!" Bloom waved as Valtor tried his coffee again, scowled at the still bitter flavour and dumped the entire bowl of sugar in. "I was just asking Valtor about the Magic Dimension."
"Of course you were," Mike sighed, dragging his hands down his face and slumping his shoulders. "Of course."
"Am I to assume you aren't alright with Bloom coming with me?" Valtor asked, trying his coffee one last time before smiling in content at the far sweeter flavour.
Bloom frowned and rested a glum cheek on a propped fist. "I've been trying to convince him and Mom all night. I was hoping they'd come around today but—"
"Bloom, it's not that we don't want you to go, it's just—" Vanessa began but was cut off by her husband. "No. Nope. We actually don't."
"I assure you both I will let nothing happen to your daughter during our travels," Valtor said. "In fact, the place we're going to first is completely void of any danger with the exception of petty crime, and with a powerful wizard like me at her side—"
"Hold up, didn't you say you lost most of your powers?" Mike demanded with crossed arms.
Valtor's polite smile froze on his face and his eye twitched as he slowly sipped from his mug once more. "Your point?" he said tightly.
"How do we know you'll be able to keep her safe?" Mike pressed.
"I don't need much magic to send a pickpocket flying, Mike," Valtor said. "Besides, Bloom is a powerful fairy, she'll be able to defend herself on her own soon enough."
"Plus remember those gun guys?" Bloom reminded her parents. "They were after Valtor's Dragon Fire! They'll come for mine too if I'm not trained. And plus, this is probably the best thing that's ever happened to me! A magical expedition? I've been dreaming of that since I was a kid!"
The two shared a worried glance as Bloom stood and clasped her hands pleasingly. "Come on, please? I have nothing to do this summer anyway!"
Vanessa quirked an eyebrow. "What happened to helping me at the shop."
Bloom winced and looked away. "Um…I'll make it up to you?"
Valtor was just contemplating if he had enough magic for a simple suggestion spell when Vanessa said, "Alright, how about this? You promise to call every night and we'll let you go."
"Really?" Bloom and Mike said simultaneously, one in excitement and the other in shock.
"We can't protect her from evil witches and crazy gunman, Mike and we certainly can't instruct her on using her gift—but Valtor can," Vanessa said.
"But—!"
"Yes!" Bloom wrapped both her parents in a giant hug and planted a kiss on both their foreheads. "I'll change and go pack right now!"
And with that, the gleeful redhead dashed out of the kitchen and up the stairs once more.
"Now?" Mike repeated in a faraway voice. "Now, now?"
"No time like the present, yes?" Valtor said, drinking the last of his coffee and placing the cup in the sink. "Not to worry, I'll buy her breakfast at a diner. My treat."
"No, I don't care about breakfast, I care about our little girl being safe!" Mike snapped as he stormed in front of Valtor with clenched fists. He narrowed his eyes and stepped backwards from the angry father.
"Mike!" Vanessa exclaimed as Valtor said, "I told you already; I will protect her. I'm the only one who can and you know it."
Mike opened his mouth to argue before clamping his mouth shut and looking away with a glare.
"It'll be alright, Mike. Bloom will be fine," Vanessa said soothingly, placing a hand on his tense shoulder.
"Hey, Valtor?! Do I need winter jackets?!" Bloom called from upstairs.
"That would be my cue to help," Valtor said coolly, patting Mike's shoulder. "I assure you, Bloom is in very good hands. I'll take incredibly good care of her, you have my word."
Bloom felt as if her heart would shatter her ribcage and dance around the room, her breath was coming out in short puffs and she had to continually rub her sweating palms on her jeans.
This was happening! This was real!
"Bathing suit?" Bloom said, spinning around, nearly tripping on the edge of her carpet and quickly righting herself. She presented the blue one piece to Valtor as he squinted at the pages of the Harry Potter book she made him borrow, holding the latex pinched between her fingers.
Valtor looked up and said, "I don't see why not; I plan to take you to Andros eventually."
"Is Andros a beach dimension?" Bloom asked as she plopped on the bed beside him and began folding the bathing suit with excitedly shaking hands.
"An ocean dimension," Valtor corrected, twirling a finger in the air and causing Bloom's bathing suit to self fold and zoom into her open and already partially stuffed suitcase. "It's also home to many talented wizards—it would be nice to cleanse you from this ridiculous Earth interpretation and show you some proper wizardry."
He shut the book and stood as Bloom began forcing her suitcase closed. "So does that mean—" she grunted and slammed her elbow against the case, struggling with the latch. "Does Harry Potter not actually—come. On. Yes!" She sighed in relief as she finally managed to shut the stupid thing.
"The Magic Dimension has endless possibilities—but in this plane of existence, I'm afraid not," Valtor responded, but Bloom wasn't really listening anymore. The final latch seemed to echo around the room, freezing her in both time and place.
This was happening. This was real.
"Bloom?" Valtor's voice cut through the silence, his hand on her shoulder anchoring her back to reality.
"Hmm? Oh, sorry I just…" Bloom stood up, hands sliding off the suitcase. "I guess I now just realized this was actually happening. Like actually. I've never left Gardenia before and now I am...but with a practical stranger—no offence."
"I understand," Valtor said, and Bloom turned, seeing a comforting smile on his face—or at least an attempt at one. Like every smile thus far with the exception of his smug smirk, this one didn't quite reach his eyes. "You must be leaving a lot of people behind," he continued, sounding sincere enough.
Bloom smiled sadly and hugged herself as she shook her head. "No, not really; only my parents. I mean there's my ex Andy but we don't really talk that much."
"No friends?" Valtor questioned.
At that question, Bloom found her gaze travelling to her wall, eyes sorting through the drawings of fairies and wizards before finally landing on a particular one.
"Not anymore," she said quietly, blinking back tears as she turned away from the childish drawing of she and Selina. She would've loved this, learning that magic was real, that all their hopes and dreams were real after all.
"We'll get you a proper phone as soon as possible, you'll be able to stay in touch with your parents," Valtor said standing in front of her and blocking her view of Selina. "And as for friends...well," he held out his gloved hand to her before smiling once more. "There's no rule saying a mentor can't also be a dear companion."
Bloom gave him a watery smile and said, "Like Luke and Obi-Wan?"
Valtor's smile froze on his face and he gave Bloom a blank look.
"Oh right you—never mind," Bloom said in embarrassment. "A-anyway, thank you, so, so much for this opportunity," she continued, clasping Valtor's hands with both of hers. "I'm a bit scared yeah but...I know this is going to be the beginning of the best part of my life."
"Again, it's the least I can do after you saved my life yesterday. Now then—" Valtor slipped his hand out of Bloom's and pointed to her suitcase. Bloom watched in awe as it immediately shrunk before plopping into his outstretched hand. "Are we ready?" He finished, handing the mini suitcase to her.
Bloom took the offered object and squeezed it tight in her palm, nodding resolutely. "I'm ready. Just...let me say goodbye first?"
Valtor nodded in acceptance as Bloom turned towards the doorway to say her goodbyes, only to find her parents waiting by the doorway.
"Heading out now, kiddo?" Mike said with a sad smile.
Bloom felt the tears coming back and she desperately tried swallowing them down, looking at the wall to avoid their sad and earnest eyes. "Uh-huh. Yeah."
"Well, I think you'll be needing this," Vanessa said, spurring Bloom to look up and find her mom holding out a first-aid kit.
"And your phone. You have it on you, yeah?" Mike asked. Bloom pulled her flip phone from her back pocket and showed it to her parents. "Here, see?"
"I'm afraid that won't work," Valtor chimed in. "Not to worry, however. We'll upgrade it as soon as—"
"And you," Mike cut him off, stepping forward and jabbing Valtor in the chest. "If anything happens to her on your watch—"
"As I said, she will be perfectly safe," Valtor said, punctuating that final word by smacking Mike's finger away as if it were a fly. "Now if you excuse us. Bloom?" Valtor gestured to the bedroom door with his head and Bloom nodded.
"Right. Right okay, I'm ready—oof!" from behind, Mike wrapped Bloom in a tight hug while Vanessa hugged her from in front.
"We love you, Bloom," Vanessa whispered tenderly.
"And don't you ever forget it," Mike added.
Bloom's voice was choked by her bittersweet laughter as she snuggled closer to both. "Guys stop! You're going to make me cry."
"Hold on," Vanessa said in amusement. She squeezed Bloom one more time before finally stepping back, lovingly smoothing her fiery hair.
"Go out there and have a great adventure, kid," Mike smiled, playfully shoving her towards Valtor. Bloom stumbled to her feet with another laugh before smiling back at them one more time, imprinting their images into her mind.
This was happening. This was real. And she was going to make the most of it.
With a final wave she clamored down the steps to meet Valtor at the front door.
"I believe we should start our journey in Magix," Valtor told Bloom as she locked the door of her house before meeting him at the bottom of the porch stairs. "It's similar to an Earth city so it will be easy for you to adapt to its culture."
"Okay, cool. How do we get there?" Bloom said, attempting to flash the eager smile she'd possessed earlier this morning and failing.
"Your parents will be fine, Bloom," Valtor said, hopefully succeeding in lacing his voice with kindness and understanding as he gave her shoulder a supportive squeeze. "Tell you what, do you know what I do when I'm feeling under the weather?"
He offered his elbow to Bloom who frowned in confusion. "You...link arms with people?"
"Not quite," Valtor chuckled. "There's an extra added step to the routine."
Valtor watched the curiosity spark in Bloom's eyes as she stepped forward and linked her arm with his.
"Now, hold on tight, yes?"
"Wait...what are—"
A moment later and Valtor pushed off the ground and into the air, Bloom in tow. The redhead let out a surprised shriek and squeezed his collar with her free hand.
"Not afraid of heights, are you?" Valtor said amusedly over the roaring wind as he gave her a sideways glance. Her eyes were wide as they darted from building top to building top.
"Huh? No, I just...I was just surprised and currently just a little scared that you'll drop me…" she said nervously.
Valtor chuckled and looked forward once more. "Trust me, I won't."
"Right," she said with a deep breath. "Right, you know what you're doing—you've done this probably a million times, right?"
"Flying? Of course."
"I was talking about flying with a passenger," Bloom corrected. "I mean you called this a routine, meaning you—"
"I understand the English language, Bloom, thank you," He said sharper than he intended to. It however had the wanted effect, silencing her immediately with the exception of a mumbled, "Sorry."
There was an awkward beat of silence after that before Bloom asked, "Sooo where are we going?"
Grateful for the subject change, Valtor responded, "We're going back to the park you found me in, that was the last place I opened a Dimensional Portal and the residue magic should greatly aid in putting a lesser strain on me.
"I thought the last portal you made was at my house," Bloom said, blowing a wind dancing bang from her eyes.
"Limbo isn't a dimension, it's a pocket of dark matter between space and time—convenient for hiding things or letting unfortunate souls wither away in its darkness," Valtor explained.
Bloom furrowed her brow "So those men you sent there—"
"Presumably had a soul and are thus dead—unless somebody reached them in time which I doubt," Valtor said simply.
"Oh," Bloom said, clearly disturbed if the returning frown on her face was any indication.
"Let's move on to lighter topics," Valtor said as the buildings began to thin and make way for small business and denser vegetation. "What would you like for breakfast?"
That seemed to do the trick, as Bloom's face lit up immediately. "I was kinda feeling for pancakes. Is there any in Magix?"
"Please. Where do you think humans got it from?" Valtor said as he finally located the familiar clearing from the night prior.
"Whoa. That's a lot of destruction," Bloom commented as the two began to lower slowly to the ground. Surrounding the clearing were scorch marks, jagged stumps and fallen trees. Shaken leaves scattered the ground and crunched beneath their shoes as they landed.
"Indeed. And this is only scratching the surface of your full potential," Valtor said as he stepped back and held out his hand. The wind picked up and scattered the leaves elsewhere as a hole through space sliced through the air and opened up like a pitch dark yawning maw.
He turned to Bloom and held out his hand. "Are you ready?"
Bloom smiled and nodded firmly. "Yup," she said, taking his hand and letting her lead him into the darkness.
Stepping through the portal felt like stepping into a wing tunnel. Cold eldritch wind blasted through Bloom's hair and clothes, forcing her to shut her eyes at the impact before it abruptly stopped.
Slowly opening her eyes, she found herself standing in an alleyway, Valtor by her side.
She stepped out of the dark alleyway and onto the sidewalk, gasping as she took in the sights before her.
A woman walked past with a (mini fairy? Sprite?) fluttering beside her. On the road a hovering car stopped by a parking lot before its driver brought his hand out of the window to snap his fingers, magically creating a new space for him to park. And on the other side of the street, a boy sat constructing a mini orchestra with floating self playing instruments as pedestrians gave him tips.
Looking up she saw a train running on nothing but seeming gravity and people flying—fairies.
"Welcome to Magix," Valtor said, regaining Bloom's attention, he gestured towards the bustling city with a dramatic sweep of his arm and offered a smile. "And to the beginning of the new you."
AN: Next chapter's when the action starts friends! Hang tight and I promise the next update won't take months this time!
I also have a account, "Fantasy's Writing Shop" so if you want to show some support and get earlier chapters, that's the place to go!
Fantasy Fan OUT!