Icy

Soon after the news had been given about the dorms, I made my way outside the building and began walking toward the center of Alfea's courtyard. I was barely aware of my surroundings and was only focusing on my steps. One after another. A repeated motion that seemed to ground me to the reality—I need to keep a grasp on this—that I seemed to have lost.

I sat down on a dark wood bench, the wood worn and soft from the years. The ground below me was no longer perfectly trimmed grass, but a cement-like material with multi-coloured stones embedded into its pale surface. The small area seemed to be in a circular formation, with the stone fountain in the center that the benches surrounded, as well as the rounded hedges that grasp the perimeter.

But no matter how peaceful the surroundings may be, it did little to help with my fear of this anomaly. Though it was better than being cooped up inside the school itself. Even if it provided safety.

With the threat of the Shaman Witch, the Alfea barrier is the thing that could keep us safe from her. I now respected the protection—ironic, since after destroying it after the consistent reappearance of the barrier—as it can do more to keep both Stormy and Darcy safe than I can myself.

If I had to be honest with myself, I'd say that I'm more worried about the latter. Stormy had gained her Inseimix, and my only regret was that I wasn't able to help her with the ordeal. Very few know about what happened to her on Linfea, and how hard it was—has been—for her.

I rested my chin on my open palm in thought. We—Darcy, Stormy and I—met not soon after. I made it to Magix around a month sooner than the two of them. Not having much to do and nowhere to go after Diamond, I mainly wandered.

Not having time to grab money for food after the unprepared destruction of my home, I sold my crown and the jewels that my bracelets adorned. Foolish waste of nostalgic objects? Possibly, but it was necessary for the moment's survival until I could figure out a plan. Traded in my dress for casual clothing to blend in, and soon, all I had to do was wait a few days until I would turn 16. Then I could enroll in Cloud Tower and have somewhere to go, and a way to become more powerful than the Shaman.

"Are you hiding from me, or are you just that eager to get out of the school?" I heard an amused but calm voice question from behind me.

I turned, and still from behind the fountain, I could see Darcy walking slowly towards me. I smiled. "Both?" I shrugged.

"Seems like you." Darcy walked around the fountain to where I was sitting and sat down next to me on the bench. "Are you feeling a bit better?"

She met my gaze, and she was trusting me to tell her truthfully. Huh, guess she held off from reading my mind. I don't mind it honestly, but it was kind of her to wait for me to tell her what I was feeling.

"A bit," I admitted as I smiled. "Just thinking about the day the three of us met." It was one of my best memories. Before we all had met, I was alone with no friends. All my companions on Diamond were… I still don't know if they're alive.

"Yeah…" Darcy said nostalgically as she looked off into the forest. "It's strange; how long it's been, and yet, we still remember it clearly."

She was right. It's been… I think eleven years have passed since we met. Probably. I was around 15—almost 16—when I first arrived at Magix. In a month or two it'll be my 26th birthday. Though I've not celebrated one for a very long time, with trying to take over the magical world and all. So yes, it's been eleven years since the three of us met.

It was a little more than a week after I arrived on Magix, and I was walking through the Main Street—bracelet in hand. I only had a few valuables left, but in turn, it was only 4 days until I would be able to enroll in Cloud Tower.

As I continued walking, I at the time was still unaware of the witch-fairy rivalry. Diamond had no such thing. I unknowingly walked past the boundary and into the fairy side of Magix.

Though if I had known, I still might've done the same thing. I knew little of the world outside of Diamond, and even less about fairies as well as their ability to sense dark magic—but not all can, my luck was just that bad.

I turned into a shortcut that led off from the main street of Magix, thinking it was safe. It was dark, and long, but I could still see the light from the other side. That is until a figure blocked that light.

I took a step back from the figure as they stepped closer. 'What are you doing here, witch?' She said with venom.

The girl—a fairy as I know now—seemed only a year or two older than me, and only around a few inches taller than me. But still, I had little idea of what was going on, so I continued to slowly pace back.

'Excuse me?' I said plainly, forcing my gaze to not falter. My naivety had cost me my planet, and I knew now to not show weakness.

The fairy scoffed. 'This is the West side of Magix. Are you really that stupid to not know the rule here? Fairies take hold of this area.'

I continued to back up, even as the fairy's hand glowed a golden orange. That is until I felt a scalding pain in my back that was burning through my clothes and onto my skin. Weak as it may be, I let out a pained wail before I took a few rushed steps forward. Then the burning stopped.

I glanced behind me.

It was an inferno of red, orange, and gold blocking the way I had come into their alley. Somehow frightening and tempting at once. It emitted a golden light that all the more made it beautiful.

Before that day, I had nothing against fire. We used it back on Diamond to meld crystals into weapons and jewelry. And I found it peaceful and wonderful. I would sit next to my mother and sister, watching the royal blacksmith melt crystals into different shapes.

Now that I think back, my encounter with that fire fairy probably subconsciously contributed to my past hate of Bloom and her magic. Fire brought me a feeling of pain and helplessness that day, and so I did nothing but hate it in return.

'And you don't get to escape from here unless I'm done with you.' The fairy's voice would have sounded kind—light and full of air—but I knew her true face.

I trembled. Suited to crystal magic before to destruction of Diamond, back then I didn't know the ome what to do with it or how to summon my ice magic. I only gained it after my planet's destruction. Due to the fact that the ancestor's magic only activated within me after breaking the bonds of mercy that I lived by before the Shaman Witch.

'Leave her alone, Arhea,' a headstrong and determined voice said, coming from behind me—behind the fire.

I turned, and barely through the inferno, I could make out another two figures. Pitch-black darkness came up from the ground in front of the two figures and swallowed the flames into the ground.

My eyes widened.

The two girls seemed similar in age to me, but what allowed me to rest easy was that both were witches, not fairies.

One of the two—the one that I assumed had quelled the flames, based on her dark-toned attire—had long, brown hair that almost went down to the ground. Her eyes were golden, and though she was likely my age, they gave her a cunning and collected air differently than my own.

The second girl had curly, dark navy-purple hair that would have gone just above her shoulders if not for the messy bun she kept it in. She wore more casual clothing compared to the other witch's attire. Having an overall energetic energy—and determined-seeming—I made the guess that she was the one who had spoken.

The fairy's face turned more sour as the flames dispersed. 'Darcy, Stormy, long time no see,' the fairy—Arhea, apparently—said with distaste.

'We don't want to be of any trouble here, Ahrea. But if you don't leave…' the brown-haired witch caught my gaze as her eyes flashed dark purple for a split moment, before looking back at the fairy. 'Icy alone, we'll have to fight you.'

The second witch stepped forward. 'And it won't end like last time.' Her hands were already sparking slightly, and I found it strange that Stormy felt ready to fight just like that for a perfect stranger.

Back then, I was shocked that Darcy knew my name. I turned to face her. 'How do you know my name?' I questioned, my tone quiet.

'Psychic witch,' Darcy said in a similar tone. 'But now's not the time for questions.' The witch looked back towards the fairy, who took a step back.

Ahrea rolled her eyes. 'Ugh, fine then. That girl isn't worth the annoyance of fighting the two of you. Though you witches are so pathetic—as if you won't run away like last time.' The fairy turned and began walking out of the alley, disappearing.

And that was how the three of us met.

After that, Darcy and Stormy brought me out of the alley. I soon realized the severity of the magic burn on my back, and the two of them helped me heal it. The three of us sat down on a curb and began talking.

Apparently, Ahrea had bothered the two of them as well when they first wandered into the wrong side of Magix. They told me how the two of them met, and eventually, I told them about Diamond. I had tears in my eyes as I told them, but they seemed to have similar troubles.

Stormy had killed her mother and escaped Linfea—her planet—with Darcy's help. Speaking of, Darcy had gone to Linfea to find a way to restore her planet's people. I'm not surprised by the fact that she's snuck into almost every archive in the Magic Dimension to find information, but still without any avail.

I met Darcy's gaze. "Any luck with fnding a way to save Zenothe?" I questioned carefully, not wanting to upset her after all the dead ends she's had over the years.

Darcy let out a short chuckle in response. "You know me too well." She was right, I knew that soon after had gotten her room together, she had gone off to the archives of Alfea. Reckless? Ome yes. But after all these years, Darcy has gotten very good at what she does.

"But no," Darcy said calmly as she shook her head. "The library was a dead end, and so was the archive. Though there was a room—apparently the Hall of Fairies—which was locked, and not with a normal key. I couldn't get in even by transporting." She shrugged. "Didn't get caught though, so I guess that's the positive of all this."

My smile faltered only for a split second before I began to hear rustling in the forest outside the school's gates. Darcy heard it too, and so we both stood up from the bench to get a better view of what was going on.

"What was—?" I started before two familiar figures burst through the trees. Musa and Iorda. I knew they had gone off into the forest, but they seemed rather urgent. After all, they were rushing towards the two of us. Darcy and I began walking towards them.

"What's going on?" Darcy questioned plainly, but warily as if making sure it wasn't the type of situation of the Shaman. Musa and Iorda paused for a second, catching their breath.

"Wait up!" A small, high-pitched voice exclaimed from farther behind the two fairies. I recognized that voice. Who else could it be besides a pixie?

That said pixie—clothed in pink and white—sped towards Musa and Iorda and paused beside the latter. Oh, right. That pixie was Iorda's bonded pixie: Bliss.

"You two need to slow down!" Bliss complained, breathing heavily from exhaustion.

"You'll be okay, Bliss," Iorda looked towards the pixie, who fixed herself on the fairy's shoulder, before turning to us. "We need your guys' help."

"With what, exactly?" I questioned plainly.

"Uh, well," Musa began, visibly unsure about how we would react to this. "There are three pixies in the village that are, by the looks of it, very sick. We don't know what happened exactly, but we think the two of you and Stormy likely have to try to bond with them."

A pause went by.

"Did I hear that correctly, or was I mistaken that you said that we have to—," Darcy said in a severely confused tone as if she couldn't believe what Musa had just told her, and I felt the same way.

We would have to bond with the three pixies? That's impossible, everyone knows that. Only fairies can form a bond with pixies.

"Bond with them? Yes, you heard right," Iorda finished Darcy's sentence.

"Isn't that impossible?" I questioned. "Only fairies can bond with pixies." I honestly expected the two of them to know this.

"Jolly said that they can only be healed by a 'forbidden connection,' and one that will defy the law for the basis of bonding; that only fairies can bond," Iorda explained. "I think… that is the way to save them."

The silence went by. The two fairies did not want to force us to save the pixies and bond with them, but it was clear that this situation was urgent and couldn't hold off much longer. We definitely haven't had the best relationship with the pixies in any way. But if we don't do this… will the three pixies die...? If they die because we wouldn't even try to help them...

I knew what my answer was, and it seemed Darcy did too.

Darcy met my gaze. "Let's go find Stormy." I followed her as she began running towards the school, while the two fairies stayed behind in the courtyard.

I have no idea how this will turn out.

Darcy

Soon after that, Icy and I found Stormy in her dorm room along with Flora. Both had questioned what was going on, but still, it took Stormy a while to let the fact sink in that we would have to bond with the pixies.

Flora had gone to find the rest of the Winx, and it didn't take long as most of them were still in their dorms. Either unpacking or simply conversing with one another.

A few moments after we had met Iorda and Musa again in the courtyard, Bliss—Iorda's bonded pixie—had begun to lead us through the dense woods to Pixie Village.

Strange though, was how the pixie didn't even blink an eye when she had seen us in the courtyard. Either she had known of what happened a few months ago, or she just found out somehow.

It was only close to half an hour before we came across a thicker-than-normal wall of trees, and the pixie used her magic on it to reveal the small village. Pixies were still flying around, though most of them seemed to be condensed farther into the area.

"Hurry!" Bliss exclaimed as she flew between the houses—no taller than my knee—all the way to the center of the village.

As the ten of us made our way over there, several pixies glanced at us in a confused and suspicious manner. Understandable.

"Nifea," Flora greeted—the urgency had taken a toll on her tone as well—to the green and gold-clothed pixie that was hovering over three other pixies that seemed to be doing far less than well.

Other pixies that I could not recognize tended to the three, changing the cool clothes on their heads and things like that, but it barely seemed to be helping. However, the one that caught my eye was one with dark fuchsia hair and eyes, dark purple hair and pure brown skin. She lifted her clearly tired head and met my gaze, and it was weird, as when she did I felt something inside me.

"Winx," Nifea sighed, relieved. She turned and met our gazes. "It is… good to see you too, Trix. As we need your help with this predicament." Nifea didn't seem too fazed by our appearance, which was a nice change.

Nifea met our gazes. "Do you know what you might have to do?" The three of us nodded carefully. "Thank you for this," she said as she flew a bit back before looking at the three pixies on the ground, leaning against one of the houses. "These are Aroma, Bivlee, and Emerald. The three of them have been sick for almost a week, and nothing has been able to stop it. But the last thing we haven't tried is a bonding. A bonding with you, Trix."

"Nifea…" Icy began. "I… know we haven't gotten along in the past, but we will try to help them."

The pixie nodded gratefully. "Please then, come forward." Her voice was calm but still was very urgent for the lives of the pixies.

Stormy, Icy, and I shared a glance at each other before slowly walking to where the pixies layed. The others that tended to them flew off due to our presence, but the ones who were sick—Bivlee, Aroma, and Emerald—stayed. We knelt down in front of them.

The one that I felt a connection to still had her gaze fixed on me, and I let my eyes meet hers. They were not full of fear, but something of trust. I smiled softly.

Slowly, I reached my hand out towards her, and she did the same. It took but a few moments until our fingers touched, but when they did, it was all the more worth it. I felt something stir inside me, and by the way, the pixie's eyes lit up, I could tell she felt the same joyous sensation. Somehow, the pixie levitated up—still holding my hand—while being surrounded by a lavender light, and I was surrounded by the very same light.

"My… name's Darcy," I smiled.

The pixie let out a small, glee-filled laugh that was a sound that I wish to hear time and time again. "I'm Aroma, the pixie of senses." We both shared the same smile once more before the shared glow disappeared from the two of us, and Aroma began hovering using her wings in mid-air.

"Thank you! Thank you, Darcy!" Aroma spun around happily. "You saved me!"

It was one of the happier days in those few months, one of only a few. Aroma and I were now connected, and apparently, in the words of Nifea, 'have a sister-like bond now.' That type of bond has always been with Icy and Stormy, even though we are not related by blood. That bond will always stay, but the bond with pixie—my bonded pixie—I suspected that it would grow just as strong.

Later I found out that Bivlee, Emerald, and Aroma were close friends. A coincidence? Possibly. Bivlee—the pixie of colour and quite energetic and bubbly in personality—had bonded with Icy, which was good, as she needed some cheerfulness in her life.

Emerald—the pixie of gemstones—had bonded with Stormy. She had a very mom-like personality, which my heart melted at. Stormy's mom was gone, so maybe this pixie could give her that pillar she had been missing for years.

Aroma was calm as I was, but also extremely shy with those she did not know. I introduced her to Icy and Stormy, but she took to them right away due to her close friend's bond with the two of them. This was such a happy time, yet my mind couldn't help but wonder.

What sickness could not be cured? By anything but bonding?

Third Person

Oscurita may have been empty of noble souls when the Winx and Trix had left, though that's not to be said that it was empty of lifeforms.

A cloudy, dark sphere hovered in front of a figure, the Shaman Witch. Still in the dark world, she was now plotting the group's demise. Hiding in a hidden cave in Oscurita seemed to be the best decision, rather than hiding out in Magix. Spying on them in Pixie Village, the witch's expression turned foul at the sight of the witches bonding with the pixies. Though her gaze was fixed on one witch in particular. One whose guilt could be trusted against her.

Darcy.

The Shaman Witch turned behind her. "Aria!" She called out, demanding. The far side of the cave was shrouded in darkness, and the figure that emerged from it seemed to come out of nowhere.

That said figure had wavy, pale brown hair that went down to her waist; done up partially in a bun with strands loose. She wore a loose, pale blue dress that was adorned with intricate beading at the lower half—depicting swirls of dark reds and blues.

"Yes, my Queen," Aria took several steps forward, her head tilted down slightly, but even that couldn't hide her malicious smile at the chance to wreak havoc and use the young witch's worst weakness against her.

The Shaman Witch turned and met Aria's gaze. "Next time the Winx and the Trix come into Oscurita, make sure that this one," the witch pointed to the clouded image of Darcy in the sphere, "does not escape. Use whatever weakness of hers you can."

Aria looked up, her smile still on her face. "I'll be sure of it." Her hand drifted up to the vial hanging down from her neck by the thin thread. The young woman began to walk off.

"And make sure it goes better than your plan to poison the pixies," the Shaman Witch said sternly, after all, the pixies were now healed.

Aria did not look back as she walked back into the shadows. "Oh, it will," she said maliciously before disappearing. One last cackle echoed out from the darkness.

"It definitely will."

A/N Woooo! One more chapter then all the old ones are out of the way! I hope you all enjoyed this!