Chapter 19

'Do you know how much trouble your mother could get into.' Layla said and turned a page.

'Not if you don't tell anyone.' Bloom replied. She was engrossed in a book as well

'Bloom, this is serious. There is a reason why royal bloodlines need to be kept pure.' Tecna spoke up not even looking up from the book she was reading.

'Domino's core is powered by light magic. All the creatures, all the people, the plants, everything is being kept alive by it. It's crucial that the royal family practices fairy magic.' Musa said. She was slightly frowning while reading.

'Yes, I know that. But my mother is a fairy now, right? That's possible. Mirta used to be a witch as well and now she's a fairy.' Bloom retorted

'This is not a question of possibility. Of course it's possible.' Stella rolled her eyes. Even the blonde fairy held a book. 'But Mirta will always be part witch.'

'I don't get the problem.' Bloom sighed

'Solaria is the realm of the sun, the stars and the moon. It's the brightest planet in the whole magical dimension. Do you know what would happen to the planet if someone suddenly decided to put a little darkness to the mix.' Stella explained

'It would cause severe consequences for…well…everything.' Bloom said quietly.

'You know what's interesting. Despite the fact that you obviously have a negative opinion about this, you all were pretty eager to get your hands on one of these seer journals…..'

'Shut up, Stormy.' Stella said annoyed.

'…and none of you stopped Bloom, when she decided to get a little blood infusion from Icy. It's the same principle. She doesn't have pure fairy magic anymore.' The storm witch continued.

'Hey..if her mother is part witch, does that mean Bloom's magic wasn't pure fairy magic to begin with.' Darko asked.

'That would explain why her mother didn't freak out when she found out about the blood ritual.' Timmy replied. 'She knew that there already was witche's blood running though her veins because of her.'

'Her mother already knew about the blood ritual before Bloom was even born.' Musa said and held up the journal she's currently reading. 'She had a vision about it over twenty years ago.'

'She even had a vision about the day the ancestral witches attacked Domino.' Brandon said.

'Why didn't she try to prevent it?' Bloom whispered.

'These visions are extremely vague. It says when they attack but not how or why.' Brandon answered.

'It must have been frustrating to know something would happen but not being able to prevent it.' Flora said quietly.

The conversation immediately died down. They all continued to silently flick through the books, hoping to find something useful.

After some time they could hear footsteps outside in the hallway that got increasingly louder. They immediately put the books out of view when the door was suddenly thrust open.

'You!' A furious Icy walked into the room and pointed at Stormy.

'Me?' Stormy asked confused.

'Yes, you!' Icy only stopped walking when she was face to face with her sister. 'Any midnight talks with Medora I should know about!?'

'What? No!' The storm witch shook her head.

'You're absolutely sure about that?' At this point the temperature dropped.

'I..I mean..Darcy did…' Stormy stuttered.

'Yes, I know about Darcy. I'm talking about you.' Icy interupted her visibly confused sister

'What the hell. Why would I want to have a conversation with her?' Stormy defended herself.

Icy didn't reply. It looked like she was deciding whether her sister was telling the truth.

Stormy just stood there completely confused. She wasn't sure what just happened.

It took some time until Icy took a few steps away from Stormy letting her gaze wander to the other people in the room.

No one dared to ask the ice witch. They weren't keen on getting Icy's anger transferred on them.

'Sky, what happened?' Bloom looked at her boyfriend who stood in the doorway. His entrance went completely unnoticed.

'Darcy stabbed her in the back.' Sky answered ' She sided with Medora.'

'Darcy did…wait…what?' Stormy frowned and looked back and forth between her sister and Sky

'Darcy was at the assembly and someone asked about her opinion on all of this.' Sky explained 'Apparently Darcy thinks Icy is delusional and not quite sane. She told them that Icy has been trying to proof that Medora works for the ancestral witches, while trying to keep you and her away from your mother.'

Sky paused for a second to let that sink in.

'Darcy also thinks that it's unlikely that the ancestral witches have survived the destruction of Obsidian. Subsequently Medora suggested that it might be a good idea to place Icy in… therapeutic care. To help her with her delusions.'

'If that's supposed to be a prank, you can stop now.' Bloom said.

It took them all a minute to understand that this wasn't a prank. They were being serious.

'They questioned my mental stability to rule over Whisperia.' Icy spoke up. So far she let Sky do the explaining.

'Did they…d..I mean..what do they want you..to do.' Stormy stuttered.

'Medora proclaimed in front of the whole assembly that I might not be taking this very seriously. And that she couldn't leave Whisperia to me with a good conscience. She thinks the best thing would be, that I resign and make her official ruler of the planet.' Icy gritted her teeth .

'Can she force you to do that?' Darko asked looking Icy.

'No, she can't.' Icy answered 'She can only give me a recommendation.'

'So fuck it, claim the throne and strip her of her power.' Darko replied. 'Izzy, right now that's our only way to get rid of Medora. I don't think you have a choice.'

Icy took a deep breath before answering

'I could do that.' The white haired witch crossed her arms. 'That's not the problem.'

'Darcy was very persuasive.' Sky explained 'And the majority of the rulers think that if Icy's sister thinks it's all a hoax, then maybe Icy shouldn't be let close to a throne.'

'But they can't control Icy's decision either, right?' Bloom asked.

'No, they can't.' The white haired witch shook her head. 'But if I claim the throne and the other kingdoms see it as a risk for their planet…'

'…. you're risking a coup.' Addy concluded.

'Exactly. ' Icy nodded 'And I don't think I could hold Whisperia. There is no army, no real infrastructure and to be honest I have no clue how many people are on the planet right now. I know absolutely nothing about ruling over a kingdom. It would be a quick fight.'

'You're worried about Whisperia's future?' Stella asked.

'Even if I risk sounding like a sappy fairy right now, Whisperia is still my home planet.' Icy sighed and sat down on the sofa. 'And it's the only big planet ruled by witches. I don't want Medora on the throne, who knows what she would do, but I also don't want the planet to be taken over by light magic because of a coup.'

'Icy, we're all on the same side at the moment. And I don't think anyone in this room doubts that the ancestral witches are somewhere out there.' Bloom said 'If you are serious about this, tell Medora you're taking the throne. We will try to help as much as possible to prevent Whisperia from getting attacked, I promise.'

'Are you serious?' Icy frowned 'You're willing to help me.'

'Sure, why not.' Bloom shrugged.

'I can think of a reason.' Stella spoke up. 'But I guess I prefer Icy to Medora so I will keep my opinion to myself.'

'I really don't want to spoil the mood right now, but…' Musa said and took one of the books from behind a pillow, where she hid it. '…there might be a slight change of plan.'

Icy raised an eyebrow as she spotted one of journals Bloom received from Daphne, before looking at the red haired fairy.

'Before you get angry that I told them, please remember that I just offered our help.' Bloom replied

'It feels like everyone is doing what they want nowadays.' Icy rolled her eyes

'Just for your information…' Musa gave the white haired witch the book and pointed at the very last entry in it. '…all those visions have actually happened, so far.'

Icy let her eyes wander over the sentence over and over again.

'Who has chronologically speaking the next book.' Icy asked after a minute.

'It's the last one' Musa answered 'We don't have one that is dated after that.'

'What does it say?' Bloom wanted to know. Icy just handed her the book and let her read the sentence.

''Decline the throne'' Bloom read out loud.

'That's it?' Tecna frowned 'Nothing else? No explanation?'

'Nope' Bloom closed the book.

'When is it dated?' Addy asked

'Today. ' Icy reluctantly replied.

'I feel like everyone but me knows what's going on.' Sky broke the silence 'Am I allowed in on the secret?'

'What! No, that's absolutely the wrong approach.' Stella said

'But it says she won't take the throne. So, she should decline' Riven replied

'It's a book, Riven, It's not set in stone.' Musa retorted 'And it shouldn't influence Icy's decision.'

'All of the other visions have come true.' Tecna pointed out 'Chances are high this one will come true as well.'

'Icy should claim the throne. It's better then giving it to Medora.' Brandon said.

'I agree.' Stella nodded

'We don't have the whole picture.' Layla spoke up 'What if there is a another book with visions that we don't know of that explains why Icy declines the throne.'

'Exactly, what if there is a reason' Timmy said.

'Guys, we don't even know if it is about Icy.' Flora pointed out.

Twenty minutes. They had been going back and forth now for twenty minutes. Everyone had a different opinion on what Icy should do. It was quite interesting that none of them thought about asking what Icy wants. So, for the past twenty minutes she just sat there and let the others express their opinion.

'It doesn't matter what they think.' Darko whispered to Icy 'It's your decision.'

'Yeah, I know' Icy sighed.

'So, what do you want?'

'I want to get rid of Medora.' Icy answered without hesitation. 'And I know that should be my priority right now, but I can't help but think about what happens to Whisperia if I take the throne.'

'Who do you think will do more damage. You or Medora?'

Icy rolled her eyes. Darko knew the answer to that question, of course Medora would probably do more harm. She has shown that in the past.

'I meant what I said.' Bloom whispered next to her. 'The winx and I…We'll talk to the royal families and get them to hold back if you claim the throne. Of course only as long as you don't start to cause trouble.'

'They'll listen to them.' Sky said as he noticed Icy's hesitation 'They're guardian fairies and the royal families trust them.'

Icy slightly nodded but didn't answer. She went back to listening to the others.

'What were you originally planning to do?' Stormy asked after a minute. 'You knew you would have to make a decision.'

The ice witch just continued to watch the others arguing. For a moment Stormy thought Icy didn't hear what she had been asked.

'I was hoping we would've gotten rid of Medora before I had to decide.' Icy reluctantly answered. 'That way I could have declined the throne and things would be the way they were before.'

'What do you want to do now?' Addy asked.

'I would like to talk to your mother.' Icy looked at Bloom. 'I think Layla is right. We don't have the whole picture. All those journals are from before the ancestral witches first attack on Domino. Your mother has been back now for a couple of weeks. I'm sure she's had a couple of new visions.'

'Yeah, maybe she can tell us why Darcy has been acting like a bitch.' Stormy scoffed. 'What are you gonna do about our favorite new snitch?'

'Let's put it this way, Darcy better has a good explanation.' Icy huffed before standing up. She really wasn't in the mood to think about Darcy right now. Her sister messed up big time earlier and Icy was certain she would accidentally turn her into an ice sculpture before the brunette could explain anything should they walk into each other.

'You want to pay a visit to your mother?' Icy asked Bloom.

'You don't have to ask me twice' Bloom said. 'But what about my father?'

' I'll keep him away from you and distract him. You two go and talk to Marion.' Sky replied.

'You sure?' Bloom looked at her boyfriend sceptically. He was quite surprised to hear Marion was a witch and the red haired fairy didn't want him to accidentally tell Oritel about it.

'Don't worry. I won't tell anything.' Sky gave Bloom a peck 'Give me a few minutes and then come after me.'

Walking out of the living room, Sky made his way towards the door. He was about to reach for the doorknob when there was a knock from the other side. Slightly frowning he opened the door and to his surprise came face to face with Medora.

'I hope I'm not interrupting anything.' She immediately said with a fake smile. 'I'm looking for my daughter and we were wondering if we could talk to….'

Sky noticed that Medora wasn't alone. She was accompanied by Darcy, who looked like she really didn't want to be here and by Faragonda who looked equally as uncomfortable.

'We would like to talk to Flora.' Faragonda finished the sentence.

'Right, Flora was the name.' Medora replied.

'For what reason?' He didn't let either of them in and tried to buy time. Sky was hoping the others were listening to the conversation.

'She wasn't entirely innocent in trying to break into my room.' Medora answered. 'I just want to make sure that nothing like that will happen again.'

'I'll let her know.' Sky said before he tried to close the door again. With a snap of her finger Medora prevented the door from closing.

'If you don't mind, I would like to tell her myself.' Medora didn't look angry but the tone of her voice sounded threatening.

'Sky, let us in.' Faragonda said calmly .

Sky visibly hesitated before stepping back and letting Medora, Faragonda and Darcy walk past him. He sighed before closing the door and making his way back to the living room. The first thing he noticed when he entered the room was that both Flora and Stormy were not there anymore. Medora noticed that as well.

'Alright, where are they?' She immediately asked.

'What are you talking about.' Icy answered without looking up from one of the magazines she grabbed from the table in a rush a few seconds ago.

'You know that very well.' Medora hissed.

'I hate it when people think I know everything.' The white haired witch groaned. 'I can't read minds.'

'Icy, we're not leaving until we have spoken to Flora.' Faragonda looked at the ice witch with absolute guilt. 'And Medora is concerned about her daughter.'

'Not my problem.' Icy answered plainly. 'Maybe she needs to learn to divide her attention to both of her daughters instead of only concentrating on one of them.'

The ice witch made sure to direct the last part of that sentence to Darcy. Icy noticed how her younger sister shot a small glance towards the bathroom door. They have spent their whole life together and Icy was certain Darcy could feel their youngest sister's magic.

Icy immediately tried to change the topic.

'And I don't know where Flora is. Do you know where she is?' Icy turned to the Winx and the rest of the people in the room. They all shook their head. 'Great, I guess that answers all of your questions. You know where the door is.' She added looking at Medora.

'You think you're really clever, don't you?' Medora asked.

'Most of the time….Yes.' Icy smirked.

'Then I guess you don't have a problem if Dakota looks through the rooms.' Medora said and crossed her arms. She noticed how the winx looked at each other with uncertainty.

'Is that really necessary?' Darcy asked.

'Yes. Yes, it is.' Medora answered.

'Go on. Do what Mommy tells you to do' Icy looked directly at her sister. 'You know your way around here. '

God, Icy hoped Darcy wouldn't rat them out.

A few minutes earlier

'Don't worry. I won't tell anything.' Sky gave Bloom a peck 'Give me a few minutes and then come after me.'

'I hope he's better at keeping things to himself than you' Icy said to Bloom, who watched her boyfriend walk out of the room.

'I had to tell them, it was the right thing….' Bloom started to say when she heard a knock on the front door.

'I hope I'm not interrupting anything.' They heard a voice say.

'Oh great, what does she want?' Stormy groaned quietly.

'I'm looking for my daughter and we were wondering if we could talk to….'

'You!' Icy whispered and pointed at Stormy. 'Bathroom. Now.'

The storm witch didn't have to be told twice. She immediately made her way over to the bathroom.

'We would like to talk to Flora' Faragonda said.

'See what you got yourself into.' Stella hit Flora's arm. 'Now you'll get in trouble.'

'Not if they don't find her.' Musa said and shoved Flora into Stormy's direction. Both girls went into the bathroom and closed the door.

'My mother's journals.' Bloom eyes widened.

'Hide them.' Tecna replied.

All of them immediately started to put them away, making sure Medora wouldn't catch a glimpse of them.

'Sky, let us in.'

'Not a single word from either of you. You're all horrible liars. Let me do the talking.' Icy grabbed a magazine from the table before Medora, Darcy and Faragonda walked into the room.

'Alright, where are they?' Medora asked

Flora and Stormy could hear Medora , Faragonda and Darcy entering the living room. Both of them were listening to what was happening.

'Sorry, this is my fault.' Stormy whispered to Flora.

'It's ok. Neither of us really thought this through.' Flora answered quietly 'How much trouble do you think I'm in?'

'She brought Faragonda.' Stormy simply replied. 'If Griffin ever accompanied a parent to talk to one of Cloudtower's students that meant a lot of trouble.'

'Oh, great.' Flora said sarcastically.

'Sarcasm from a fairy. I do have a bad influence on you.' Stormy whispered smugly.

'Go on. Do what Mommy tells you to do' Icy looked directly at her sister. 'You know your way around here. '

Stormy and Flora looked at each other with wide eyes.

'Shouldn't Icy try to keep her from going through the rooms or did she forget that we are in here?' Flora said quietly. 'No way Medora won't make Darcy look here as well.'

'Shh…It sounds like Darcy is going towards the bedrooms.' The storm witch had her ear on the door and could hear Darcy going further away from the bathroom.

'Which gives us…less than five minutes.' Flora sighed. 'I'm in so much trouble.'

'Because you broke the rules once?' Stormy scoffed. 'Relax, the world won't stop moving. Icy is going to hold back Medora and let's be honest how bad can a punishment from Faragonda be.'

'There was one time were she took our magic away from us.' Flora muttered. The fairy could still remember how helpless she felt without the usual feeling of her powers flowing through her veins .

'Didn't expect that' Stormy said surprised. Griffin just sent them to the detention dimension if they broke the rules or…well..she would expell the students.

'I followed your advice, by the way.' Flora said after a few seconds of silence

'My advice?' Stormy asked confused. She never had good advice.

'Yesterday…about Helia and Krystal, you said I should do something about it if it bothers me.' Flora explained. 'And I did…well.. I had to explain to the other Winx last evening what happened and they kind of forced me to go talk to him…but it was your idea first, soooo...I broke up with him.'

'Wait, what ?!….That's not what I said. I meant you should make a scene and tell that fairy to back off.' Stormy said and crossed her arms.

'Why do you sound disappointed?' Flora frowned

'Breaking up was the convient option for you because it meant you wouldn't have to face a confrontation' Stormy replied matter of factly 'You took an easy way out.'

'No, I didn't.' The flower fairy said without hesitation. 'In fact, it will make things a lot more complicated.'

What happened next was so sudden and unexpected that the storm witch didn't know what to do. Flora closed the gap between them and kissed her. The kiss only lasted a second before the fairy pulled back again.

Stormy just stared at her dumbfounded with wide eyes.

'Sorry.' Flora whispered and the witch could feel her breath on her face. 'I thought….'

The fairy couldn't even finish the sentence before Stormy pulled her back again. This time Flora didn't know how to react. She hesitated only for a moment longer before leaning into the kiss as well . After a few seconds the witch grinned against Flora's lips as she felt the fairy sneaking her arms around her hips pulling her a little closer. In return the witch slipped her arms around the fairy's neck.

Neither of them wanted the moment to end. Unfortunately the door opened which made them jump apart immediately.

Slightly out of breath and completely bewildered they came face to face with Darcy, who looked equally as bewildered as her eyes went back and forth between the fairy and the witch.

Darcy was about to say something but the storm witch was quicker.

'Don't tell her.' Stormy mouthed to her sister. 'Please.'

Darcy's gaze lingered on her sister as she said out loud 'They didn't lie. Neither Flora nor Stormy are here.'

The storm witch a released a breath she didn't know she held. 'Thank you.' She whispered

Without any further words Darcy closed the door again, still shocked at what she just witnessed. There was no denying it. Stormy and Flora kissed.

Darcy took a deep breath before walking back into the living room. She was really hoping her mother wouldn't notice anything.

'Are you sure they're not here?' Medora asked.

Darcy immediately knew why her mother questioned it. The winx looked like they forget how to breath. It was obvious they were hiding something. And Medora picked up on it.

'I was in every room. You can look for yourself if you don't trust me.' Darcy tried to keep her voice as calm as possible. She shot a small glance at Icy who looked relatively calm, but the witch of darkness knew her sister was keeping an eye on her. She was still angry. Justifiably.

'No, of course. I know you would've told me.' Medora smiled at Darcy before turning back to Icy. 'I want you to tell me if you find out were Stephanie is. And please do tell..that fairy…that I want to talk to her.'

'We'll see.' Icy said unenthusiasticaly.

'Thank you very much.' Medora gritted her teeth, before handing Icy a piece of parchment. 'In the meantime, I have something for you to think about. Let me know when you've made a decision.'

Icy took a look at the parchment before putting it on the table in front of her. She kept quiet.

'Alright, I think we have said everything that needed to be said.' Faragonda broke the silence. 'We'll leave you alone now.'

'Of course, I'm sure you have more important things to do.' Medora said. She was the first to leave the room followed by Darcy and Faragonda.

They waited until they heard the door close before starting to talk again.

'What the hell just happened.' Bloom was the first to break the silence.

'Either Darcy didn't rat us out or our bathroom makes people invisible.' Stella said.

'Izzy?' Darko looked at the witch

'Darcy knew the moment she stepped into the room that Stormy was in there. Magical signature. She could feel her magic.' Icy leaned back on the sofa and rubbed her face in exhaustion. 'Don't know why she didn't say anything, though. Don't really care either right now.'

'What did Medora give you?' Sky asked and took the parchment Icy handed him in response. After a few seconds he said 'How thoughtful of her. Only your signature is missing on this document and then she'll be official queen.'

'She's putting me under pressure.' Icy pointed out.

'We need to talk to my mother.' Bloom replied.

'All right, let's try again.' Sky walked out of the room to go and distract Oritel, so Bloom and Icy could talk to Marion.

'Someone please get Stormy and Flora out of the bathroom' Icy said as she and Bloom made their way out of the winx suit as well.

She immediately knew something was off when Sky approached her and Oritel and asked to talk to her husband. Alone. She wanted to refuse to leave, because whatever Sky and Oritel would talk about, her husband would tell her later either way . But Sky was adamant that it was a man-to-man-talk. So, Marion left the boys alone and made her way back towards their room.

As she walked through the hallways, memories of her time in Alfea came back to her. It felt like an eternity ago, that she attended this school. Things had been much more easier back than and Marion would've loved to go back in time to walk through these hallways as a student again.

Completely lost in her thoughts she almost walked past her room. When Marion reached for the doorhandle she suddenly got a strange feeling. Slightly frowning she opened the door and walked inside. Marion instantly made her way to the living room.

She didn't expect to find someone already seated at the table.

'Look who decided to join us, a fellow witch.' Icy said and closed one of the journals before putting it on the table in front of her. She made sure to slide it towards the middle of the table. Marion took a short glance at the book before her gaze shifted towards Bloom who sat there with her arms crossed. For a few seconds no one said anything.

'Where did you get that?' Marion finally broke the silence.

'Daphne had them. She was kind enough to hand them over.' Icy replied and took her necklace out of her pocket to put it next to the book. The small stone was still shimmering when it got close to one of the journals. 'Anything else you might want to say?'

'Bloom, could you give us a few minutes?' Marion looked at her daughter who looked visibly offended by what her mother asked.

'Are you serious. You want me to leave now.' Bloom spoke up.

'She can stay.' Icy said determined. 'I'll tell her what you said either way.'

'If you wish to tell her, you are welcome to. Later' Marion replied calmly, before turning towards Bloom again. ' I know you're confused and angry right now and I promise I will answer your questions, but I need to talk to Icy alone first. Please.'

'That's not fair, Mom.' Bloom didn't move from her seat. 'I find out that you're a witch and all you can think about is explaining it to Icy? I would like some answers as well.'

'And you will get your answers, I promise.' Marion said.

Bloom just looked at her mother without saying a word. After a minute the red haired fairy stood up and walked out of the room, leaving Icy and Marion alone.

'I don't care about your explanation.' The ice witch said before Marion could start to talk. 'And I certainly don't care about your heritage. All I'm interested in is whether you have had another vision or if there is a follow up book. The last entry wasn't very informative.'

'No.' Marion simply replied.

'No!?' Icy raised an eyebrow. 'You do understand that I could put you in a very uncomfortable position, right? What do you think your husband will say?.'

'I'm aware of the situation I am in. No need to remind me. But there is a slight problem….' Marion sat down on the other side of the table. 'I'm not a seer.'

'How stupid do you think I am?' Icy scoffed.

'I don't think you're stupid. But there are a lot of things you don't know.' Marion replied without missing a beat. 'And there are a lot of pieces you haven't put together in the right way. Yes, I'm a witch. Or at least I was born as a witch. I'm not going to deny that. But I'm not a seer and I never was.'

Icy was visibly confused at what Marion said.

'And I can't give you something I simply don't have. You are in the possession of the last book. There are no more.' Marion continued. 'If I had more, I would give them to you. In fact, until a few minutes ago I didn't even know that they still existed.'

'Bullshit.' Icy hissed. 'Either you tell me what's going on or I'm going straight to your husband.'

'Icy….' Marion wanted to say something but was interupted by the ice witch.

'Don't test me. I've had a horrible day and my patience is long gone. If you say something I think is a lie or not the whole truth I swear I will make your life a living hell.' Icy made her point clear.

' They're your mother's.'

The ice witch fell silent immediately and Marion could see that the younger girl didn't expect that answer.

'Your necklace..' Marion continued and pointed to the small silver chain with the crystal that Icy put on the table earlier. '…Leonora always said she wanted you to find the books. I guess she put a spell on the crystal.'

Icy still didn't reply.

'I'm sure I don't have to tell you why there are no more books.' Marion said and slightly tilted her head. She could see a million thoughts going through Icy's head.

'I didn't know she was a seer.' Icy quietly said.

'Only few people knew.' The older woman replied. 'She only told those who were close to her.'

Icy slightly frowned and stared at the journal in front of her. She wasn't sure what to say now and she wasn't sure if Marion told the truth. But why make something like that up.

After a minute Icy asked quietly.

'How well did you know my mother?'

Marion knew Icy would ask that question at some point.