Chapter 15

'Who the hell are you.' Sky whispered to Icy.

'I am the crown princess of Whisperia' Icy whispered back. The witch was clearly annoyed.

After Sky walked into the Winx suite there was not much time to inform him about what was going on. He only got a short summary before they had to go to the assembly.

Now Sky was pestering her with questions, which only made Icy more nervous than she already was.

'Sky, let her breath for a second.' Marion stopped him from irritating Icy.

'I just find it weird that we never knew that about her. Why reveal it now?' Sky asked. Icy immediately stopped walking and turned so she could face Eraklyon's crown prince. The ice witch was basically fuming with anger.

'Listen here Goldilocks, until a few weeks ago I didn't even know that I was a princess. The only reason I am here right now is because she' Icy pointed at Marion 'is making me do this. If I don't, everyone will know about the blood ritual. You're asking yourself. Why would she make you do this? I DON'T KNOW. So cut the crap and leave me alone. If you're curious about my backstory, ask her. She seems to know a lot about me.'

Sky wasn't sure how to cope with the amount of information he just got. They silently continued to walk down the halls.

'What took you so long?!' Oritel walked towards them.

Icy frowned. He was obviously brothered by something.

'Oritel, what's wrong?' Marion must've had the same thought as her.

'A woman arrived a few minutes ago. I have never seen her before.' Oritel answered ' But she claims to be the queen of Whisperia.'

'What!' Marion said shocked.

'She just walked right in and claimed her seat in the assembly. She said her name is Medora.'

'Icy, do you know her?' Eraklyon's crown prince asked before taking a look at Icy. He saw something he didn't think was possible. The witch completely froze. She couldn't speak, she couldn't move. Her head told her to go grab Darcy and Stormy and leave Alfea. As fast as possible.

'Hey, look at me.' Marion put her hands on the younger girls arms. 'You need to breath.'

'Do you know her?' Icy could hear Sky asking again. She nodded and took a few shaky breaths.

'She's my stepmother.' The white haired witch looked at Marion who was still standing in front of her. 'I am not going inside.'

'You have to.'

'Please don't make me.'

'I am so sorry.'

The witch was on the verge of breaking and Marion really wished she could tell her to leave.

'No, you don't understa…' The witch tried to squirm away

'Isabella?' A woman on the other side of the hallway said ' Oh my god it's really you.'

Medora walked over to them with quick strides and took Icy into her embrace. The witch didn't fight her, she just let it happen until Medora let go of her again.

'Look at you. You are all grown up and you are so beautiful.' Medora looked at her.

'You're dead.' Icy said still in shock.

'What? No, I'm very much alive.' Medora slightly laughed before taking Icys hands 'Listen, I know I made a lot of mistakes. I am the reason for Whisperias current condition, but I want to make it up. And I am so happy that you managed to escape the ancestral witches grasp.'

Icy just stared at her.

'I don't think we have been introduced yet.' Marion interupted them 'I am Marion and this is my husband Oritel we are…'

'King and Queen of Domino.' Medora finished her sentence and offered her hand which Marion took hesitantly 'It is a pleasure to meet you.''

'Likewise.'

Medora also greeted Oritel before turning back to Icy.

'I see you're all dressed up. Were you planing on representing Whisperia in the assembly?'

Icy couldn't get a word out so she just nodded.

'You're even wearing your mother's necklace. My oh my, should I be worried that you want the throne.' Medora slightly laughed. 'Now stop this nonsense and go back to your room. I can manage to represent Whisperia on my own.'

'I think it would be a good idea for Isabella to be introduced to the assembly.' Marion stopped Icy from walking away.

'I think they know who she is.' Medora deadpanned.

'They don't know her as crown princess. Why not take the chance to represent Whisperia with the rightful heir to the throne.' Marion smiled nicely.

'Is that what you want?' Her stepmother asked Icy. Her tone was as harsh as she remembered.

The witch really wanted to say no . But she took a short glance at Marion. She clearly wanted her to say yes.

Icy surprised even herself with her answer.

'Yes.' She tried to sound as convincing as possible.

'Alright. If that's what you want.' Medora gritted her teeth.

Icy was aware that the other kings and queens wouldn't exactly like the fact that she of all people was going to sit at the assembly. In the last two years she caused way too much trouble for the other kingdoms. Andros almost got destroyed. Solaria's king was put under one of Valtor's spells. She broke the wings of Melody's crown princess and she may or may not have killed Sky before. And the list went on and on.

What Icy didn't expect was that they would completely freak out.

And if the circumstances were different she would enjoy the fact that she didn't have to do anything to cause so much turmoil.

It all felt like a fever dream to the witch. She was sitting next to Medora, who she hoped she would never see again, at a huge round table together with the other rulers of the magical dimension.

It took the kings and queens almost an hour until they were finished telling Icy off for all she did. The worst part was that she had to just sit there and listen without any way to escape.

'This is outrageous.' King Teredor said furiously. The others were equally as angry.

'My husband, king Inaros, signed the contract 19 years ago. Just like you all did. Whisperia is legally allowed to be part of this assembly.' Medora calmly said before she added smugly 'And Isabella and I want to represent Whisperia. You can dislike that as much as you want, but we won't change our minds.'

'Maybe we should start addressing a topic far more important than that.' Marion spoke up. 'We need to find a way to destroy the ancestral witches.'

'You are absolutely right.' Medora agreed 'Where were they last seen?'

Silence.

'Did anyone notice any weird behavior on their planets?' Medora continued.

No one had an answer.

'Do we even have evidence that the ancestral witches are back?' Medora asked and everyone turned to look at her.

Icy took a confused glance at her stepmother. What was she doing?

'We were able to identify magical signatures during an attack a week ago.' Sky spoke up. ' The ancestral witches sent a summoning coin to Icy….sorry, I meant to princess Isabella. It had the same magical signatures. We tried to trace …..' The crown prince of Eraklyon stopped talking when he saw Icy slightly shaking her head. She didn't want him to continue that sentence.

'We could trace back their magic ? Where is the coin now?' Queen Samara, Sky's mother, asked Icy.

The specialist noticed what he did, he just shifted the conversation back to the ice witch. He actually felt sorry right now.

Great, Sky just gave them hope and she would have to rip it away. Even worse, she may have to come up with a lie to cover up the fact that Bloom and the blood curse made the coin break.

'It broke.' Icy revealed.

'How convenient for you.' King Radius huffed 'You want us to believe that it was a pure accident that the only way to trace your masters got destroyed. I somehow doubt that.'

'I am not working for the ancestral witches.' Icy defended herself. They went through that an hour ago. Were they going to start all over again?

'And how do we know they were responsible for the attack last week. Were they seen?' King Cryos of Zenith asked.

'No.' The white haired witch said. The dress suddenly felt really tight. What the hell did she get herself into. Medora basically gave her a way out earlier.

'Then how do we know you didn't start the attack. Maybe this is just a scheme to get back into Alfea.' King Erendor was starting to get on Icys nerves. 'All we know is that there is a connection between the coin and the attack. I am sure you could have pulled that off as well.'

'That could have been caused by anyone. There is nothing that indicates the return of the ancestral witches.' King Garomius joined the conversation. 'Maybe it's not even necessary to call in the assembly again'

Icy couldn't believe what was happening.

'Let's not jump to conclusions.' Medora calmly said. Really, that's all she had to say?

'Why should we listen to you?' Queen Niobe asked 'I have never met you before, but I have heard of you. You made businesses with the wrong people after you husbands death and now half of Whisperia is destroyed.'

'Everything I did in the past, all the choices I made, I did it all to get my daughters back. The ancestral witches just took them away from me.' Medora started to tear up ' I was mad with worry and completely alone. My husband had died and as second wife the whisperian public never acknowledged me as their queen.' She made a short pause before looking at Queen Niobe. 'As mother you would have made the same choices in my situation. Wouldn't you have wanted your child back no matter the consequences.'

Icy just sat there and listened to Medora pouring her heart out. It surprised her how sincere she sounded and the tears that rolled down her cheeks looked real.

But she didn't believe her. Not a single word. She remembered the conversation she and Darko overheard all those years ago. Medora basically begged Mandragora to bring her sisters and her to the ancestral witches. What the hell was she trying to achieve here?

'I am just so happy right now that I get to see the three of them again, after all these years.' Medora took Icys hand in hers and looked into the younger girls eyes. 'We have a lot of catching up to do '

'That's really touching' Marion saw Icys discomfort. 'You weren't there, but yesterday we have established that Bloom was victim of Belladonna's mind control. How do you explain that?'

'Maybe your daughter just wanted to get even and they came up with the mind control so neither of them would get into trouble.' Medora said.'As far as I know Isabella was the first to attack during one of their training sessions. Oh…I see.. that is not public knowledge.' She added when she saw the confused looks she was getting.

Icys eyes widened. Medora didn't actually just say that, right? She just gave them all fuel for the next round of Let's make this a living hell for Icy.

'I knew it. The witch can't be trusted.' King Erendor started to say angrily. Icy heard the others arguing as well, but they all talked at the same time, so she wasn't able to entirely make out who said what.

'It was an accident.' the witch replied exhausted.

Icy had the feeling Medora was only getting started.

Breath. Concentrate and breath. Keep walking and don't stop breathing. You're almost there.

'Hey, wait.'

She could vaguely make out Skys voice. He was walking behind her.

Don't listen to him and keep walking. Don't slow down.

Walk around the corner and when you reach the end of the hallway you're there.

Just a few more steps. Keep breathing.

And when she finally managed to reach the door, Icy just stood there and stared at it.

In the meantime Sky caught up with the witch.

'You were in such a rush to get here and now you hesitate to open the door?' Sky stood next to her and stared at the door as well. 'Not very typical of you to shy away from a conversation.'

For a minute they just tood there and to stared at the door.

'Can I ask you something?' Icy asked 'Maybe I am just being paranoid but I had the feeling….'

'….that Medora tried to make you look untrustworthy?' Sky finished her sentence. 'Yep, I noticed. Why did she want to make them believe the ancestral witches aren't back?'

Sky expected a reply from Icy but the witch didn't answer.

'Wrong time to keep secrets.' He turned to look at the witch and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

' Medora was loyal to the ancestral witches and I doubt her loyalties have switched. She's the reason we were sent to Obsidian.' Icy leaned against the wall. 'And with the current circumstances I am not surprised she tried to put a target on my back'

'Is there anyone who can vouche for that?' Sky asked.

'No.' The witch replied.

'Damn it Icy, if Medora is still working for the ancestral witches, we have a huge problem. She is part of the assembly now. She will know exactly what we are planing.' Sky said frantically. 'Are you sure no one could testify?''

'Yes' Icy lied. Darko could. But with his record it would be more likely that the other kingdoms would listen to her. So she decided to not get him involved in this.

'Okay. We need to go inside and inform the others.' Sky said carefully.

'I know.'

When they entered the winx suite both of them were immediately bombarded with questions. Icy ignored all of them, walked up to her sisters and disappeared with both of them in tow in one of the bedrooms.

'Everything all right with our ice princess?' Layla asked when the door closed and the three witches were gone.

'A few things happened that caught her off guard.' Sky answered 'Give them a minute.''

'What happened? Did you develop a plan?' Bloom walked up to her boyfriend.

'Not exactly.' Sky breathed out. 'The first hour everyone was busy telling Icy off for all she did and then it was discussed whether the ancestral witches are actually back.'

'What do you mean by if they are actually back ?' Stella looked confused as did the others.

'I said probably dead.'

'Why is she here?'

'I don't know.'

'What is she aiming for?''

'I don't know.'

'Why…'

'Darcy, let me cut you off. It doesn't matter what question you ask, the answer will be 'I don't know.''

The witch of darkness didn't continue to pester her older sister with questions.

'Medora made me look untrustworthy. She demanded proof that the ancestral witches are actually back. Proof I couldn't give her, because…' Icy said after a minute.

'…because there is none.' Darcy understood the problem. No one saw who was responsible for the attack and the summoning coin is destroyed. 'I told you it was a bad idea to join the assembly.'

'It wasn't all for nothing. The kingdoms are still going to increase their security….'

'They would have done that either way.' Darcy cut her off again.'The question is how do they want to proceed against the ancestral witches.'

'They're not sure yet. Without any clues on where the witches are, there is not much they can do.' Icy replied.

'Does that mean we have to wait until they make the first move?' The witch of darkness asked shocked. 'If our mother works for the ancestral witches they know attacking anywhere right now will lead us to them. They're going to hold back for now.'

'I know.' Icy said quietly.

'I want to leave Alfea.' Darcy decided.

'What?!' Stormy, who so far only listened to the conversation spoke up.

'Are you insane?' Icy didn't expect that either.

'Who knows what our mother is planing. Am I supposed to wait for her to drag us somewhere else where our memories are alternated. I am not staying and neither is Stormy.' Darcy sounded like she made her mind up.

'No.' The storm witch looked confused.

'Stormy, pack your things.' The brunette hissed.

'I'm not going anywhere' Stormy replied a lot more confident.

'I don't think you understand….' The witch of darkness tried to say before her younger sister interupted her.

'I understand perfectly fine. But I am not leaving Alfea.' The storm witch said. 'And you can't make me.'

'Fine.' Darcy hissed, turned around and made her way to the door. When she reached the door someone grabbed her wrist.

'Where do you think you're going?' Icy asked softly.

'I'm gonna pack my things.' Darcy said. 'If you want to play happy princess that's your choice. But I want to get out of here.'

'You're not leaving Alfea.' Icy ignored her sisters comment about her being a happy princess.

'Yes, I am.'

'No, you're not.' Icy's voice sounded authoritative.

'Is that an order?' Darcy said with an audible mocking undertone. She broke free from her Icy's grip around her wrist and turned around.

'Watch your tone.' Icy didn't break Darcy's gaze 'Even if I let you leave, which I won't, where would you go?' Darcy, you need to think this through. Running away isn't going to help, it's only going to make things worse.'

Their little argument was interupted by a knock on the door. The three sisters visibly flinched by the sudden noise.

'It's me. Open to door.'

Relieved not to hear her stepmother's voice, Icy walked over to the door and opened it.

The witch came face to face with her former headmistress.

She saw how the old witch looked confused at the current appearance of the white haired witch. And then Griffin had the audacity to slightly chuckle at her.

'I don't know how she managed to do get you into that dress, but I am surprised Marion can still breath.'

'Are you just here to make fun of me. Or does your visit follow a deeper purpose' Icy rolled her eyes.

Griffin looked behind Icy at her sisters, before looking back at the ice witch.

'Are we all on the same page?'

It was Darcy who answered.

'Which page? The one where we are princesses? Or the one where we lost all our real memories?' She sneered at the old witch.

'My personal favorite is the one where our mother is a complete psychopath.' Stormy joined the conversation.

'Yeah, they know.' Icy told Griffin.

'Great, because there is a banquet this evening. It might be better if there are no unexpected surprises.' Griffen informed them.

'We've had enough of those lately.' Stormy mumbled under her breath.

'And everyone is invited to come. You three included.' Griffin added.

'Invited?' Icy asked doubtful 'Or forced?'

'Depends on who you ask' Griffin smirked. 'Try to behave