"Go through it one more time," Tecna instructed, and Bloom wasn't the only one who heaved a sigh in response.
"Four bright lights around me," she repeated dully. "A fifth weaker one that meant I was going to meet someone new. This new person was going to be a Princess, with long, dark hair, and traveling with a sleepy pixie. Concorda said the Princess was in grave danger but I would cross paths with her soon, and that she would act as a catalyst for a big change."
"And that's it?" Tecna prompted, regarding her friend with narrowed eyes and pursed lips.
Bloom's mind flashed over what Concorda had said about Sky, a detail she'd left out every time she'd been forced to recount her interaction with the psychic pixie. She shrugged and said, "And that there was going to be danger around every corner. The usual cheery stuff."
On the opposite lounge Musa smirked, the picture of unconcerned nonchalance as she sprawled out.
"So do we think there's any chance the girl we found the other night isn't the Princess Bloom was supposed to meet?"
"Oh, come on Tec," Stella said irritably, her patience waning. "It all fits. Concorda said they would meet soon and we found the girl that night, she had long dark hair, had the sleeping pixie with her, and certainly looked like she'd escaped grave danger."
"And her parents certainly looked royal," Musa remarked and Flora hummed an agreement. The pair had witnessed firsthand a couple who seemed to be the girl's parents leading what looked to be an entire royal guard up to Faragonda's office. And they hadn't looked happy.
"So, why are we even still discussing this?" Stella asked. "It's clearly her."
Tecna folded her arms and looked away moodily. Bloom knew why they were still discussing it, even if she didn't like it; because in the two days since they'd found the girl she hadn't woken once and as far as they knew was still lying in a bed in the infirmary. So until she woke and they learnt more about what had happened to her, this was all they had to go on.
Flora sensing the growing tension broken in to smooth things over. "Come on, let's not snap at each other, we're all just tired. We're not going to learn anything more until she wakes up."
Stella and Tecna both grumbled an agreement, and Flora took it as a win, leaning back in her armchair and curling her feet up beneath her. Bloom scrambled for something to say without making the subject change too obvious.
"I wonder what happened to her though. Whoever she is, it was clearly something bad."
Flora hummed sympathetically. "Whatever it was at least she's safe now."
"Unless it comes here," Stella pointed out.
"Good luck getting close," Musa muttered darkly and the others voiced their agreement.
The school's healer had deemed it too dangerous to move the unconscious girl yet, so her parents had retired to one of Alfea's guest suites in the teacher's residential wing to wait. In the meantime the infirmary was being tightly guarded by a dozen fierce looking royal guards, and everytime they tried to get close they were barked at to move on.
"We'll check on her again tomorrow," Flora assured Bloom when her friend still looked worried.
"I think you mean today," Tecna said, looking at her watch. They all scrambled to check their phones and sure enough it was well after midnight.
"By the Dragon," Flora yelped. "We're going to be so exhausted in classes."
Stella scoffed. "Whatever, it'll just be a bunch of introductions and outlines for the year, no big."
Musa rolled her eyes and fought down a yawn. "This isn't freshman year, Stel, we're sophomores now, remember?"
"That just means we'll finally be getting to the good stuff in class."
"Which means you'll actually have to concentrate this year?" Tecna asked, her mouth twitching.
Stella rolled her eyes goodnaturedly and unwound her long legs, getting to her feet. "Night darlings. This Princess needs her beauty rest."
Musa made a strangled sound that might have been a laugh and Stella cheerfully flipped her off before sashaying into her room. Hiding their smiles, the other girls did the same.
"I truly love myself."
"Not as much as we love you."
"I love the birds in the sky."
"Not as much as they love you."
"I love Light Haven."
"Not as much as it loves you."
"Peace be with you always."
The man on the stage smiled out at the crowd, waiting for the last voice to die away. "And peace be with you all as well. That concludes our morning affirmations, go forth and have a truly splendid day." The woman at his side smiled beatifically and nodded, her unbound hair dancing in the breeze.
"A truly splendid day for me would be hitting you with a thousand volts," Stormy said under her breath, the brutality of her words at odds with the wide, almost manic smile stretched across her face. Hidden within the folds of her long robe, her fingers twitched, automatically reaching for the magic that was now blocked from her.
Icy looked like she wanted to agree, but the shifting of her guard behind her had her falling silent again. Looking around, it was easy to tell the criminals from the workers and supposedly reformed by who had a guard standing tall and imposing behind them. The guards were all tall and bedecked in blue armoured uniforms, sharp spears clenched in their right hands. They never seemed to speak except forthe three times a day when they were forced to congregate and recite the affirmations.
The High Minister spread his arms like he was trying to embrace everyone in the crowd and Icy felt like retching. It only got worse when she saw people in the crowd raise their arms as well to return the gesture and she felt actual bile rise in her throat.
"Come on," she muttered to the other two. "Let's get the fuck out of here." She was sure that if she stayed any longer, the person in front of her was going to wear her breakfast all over the back of his robe.
Their guards trailed a few paces behind them while they wandered through the markets that popped up in the retreat's square on Sundays.
"You want to get anything, or shall we go trail aimlessly through the meadow until lunch?"
Stormy grumbled unintelligibly, but Darcy, gazing around with listless eyes didn't answer.
"Darcy!" Icy snapped and the brunette's eyes grew sharper as she came out of her daze.
"Let's have a look," she said, not sounding too excited about the prospect. "I have a token."
"I thought you had two," Stormy said on Icy's other side. Neither of them had any.
"Miss Holier-Than-Thou revoked it last night when I told the bitch in the next room over to shut the fuck up," Darcy grumbled, figiting with her long sleeves.
Icy whistled, impressed. She had lost the five she had saved up the other day when someone had been singing in the dining hall and Icy had threatened to rip their throat out if they didn't stop.
"A flower for your hair, miss?" a woman standing behind a nearby stall called out, interrupting them. Spread out in front of her were crowns woven with flowers of a hundred different colours and shades. Darcy's lip curled back at the sight of them.
"I'd rather pluck my own eyes out," she hissed.
The newer criminals would bare their teeth right back at such a display, while the reformed ones who had chosen to stay at the retreat would usually whimper and run scared, so Dacy was surprised when she saw something hard flash in the woman's otherwise sweet face. For a moment she was expecting the woman to reach out and strike her and show them all a glimpse of the hardened criminal she had no doubt been once. But then the moment passed and her expression lapsed back into a peaceful calm.
"Maybe next time then, dear," she said simply, before turning away to help another customer.
Darcy watched her go, horror clawing at her insides. The guards behind her hadn't intervened but she knew they had noticed and would be marking the incident down in her record. Another mark against her name, another month where the Council would decide she wasn't rehabilitated enough to leave, another step closer to becoming that woman with the flower crowns.
She felt dizzy from the lack of oxygen but still couldn't seem to draw breath, and she thought she was going to faint right there, until Icy seized her robe and started to drag her stumbling towards the meadow.
"Get your shit together," the blonde hissed, while Stormy trailed behind, distracting the guards by poking her tongue out at children and attempting to trip elderly members of the retreat passing by.
They reached the gate and entered, glad to see that everyone was still preoccupied with the markets and it was deserted. The guards were the only ones who followed and they trailed at a distance just out of earshot, more concerned with stopping any potential fits of rage than listening to their conversation.
"We're going to end up like her," Darcy hissed back, as Icy led her over to a tree and they all settled beneath it. The sun was warm, almost uncomfortably so, especially in their thick, long sleeved robes and Darcy pulled at the high neckline like it was choking her.
"We are not," Icy scoffed, no trace of sympathy for her coven sister.
"Stay here long enough and we might," Stormy grumbled, methodically ripping a flower to shreds.
Icy sneered at them. "Do you ever think we could end up like them? They're soft, they gave into those pretty little affirmations and therapy sessions. Do you ever think they'll come a day where we won't want to rip Mr High Minister or his little acolytes limb from limb?"
As if summoned by her words, a nearby hidden speaker crackled to life and the High Minister's voice began to assault them with one of those pre-recorded messages they loved to play.
"Good morning, happy guests!"
The Trix growled in response.
"It's a stunningly beautiful day here in Light Haven Retreat. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, it's the kind of weather that makes you want to pull your neighbour into a warm embrace and say 'isn't it wonderful to be alive?'."
Stormy mimed projectile vomiting while in the distance they could see people doing exactly as the High Minister had said and were embracing each other.
"Remember today is a gift, that's why it's called the present. Let us now take a few moments to quietly reflect on life's many bounties whilst listening to the soothing sounds of the Light Haven quartet."
The High Minister's broadcast ended and was replaced by the quiet sounds of a string quartet and Darcy shuddered, thinking about what Icy had said. She thought about the High Minister's infuriatingly happy face and calm voice that she was forced to listen to three times a day as he called out affirmations. She thought of the way the council cocked their heads sympathetically month after month at her evaluations before deciding that she hadn't made enough progress to be released. She thought about how much she'd wanted to reach for her magic, smother them with darkness, and rip into their minds, twisting and destroying. She tilted back her head and smirked, maybe Icy had a point.
Beside her, Icy and Stormy were heckling another reformed 'guest' who was riding by on a pure white horse.
"Keep on prancing, pal," Icy sneered.
"Yeah, nice hair. Did mummy do it for you?"
"Remember the path to inner peace lies within," The High Minister said after the musical piece was over, his voice rage-inducingly joyful. "Happiness begins with you. And a good day is only a smile away. Think not of spreading evil or wreaking havoc, just listen to your heart's true desires."
Darcy felt a vicious smile tug at her lips. "But my heart's true desire is to spread evil and wreak havoc."
Stormy rolled her eyes. "He can't hear you," she said, even though they were all convinced that the High Minister and his acolytes monitored every word spoken by their 'guests'.
But Icy was smirking at her coven sister. "Got a hold of ourself, have we?"
Darcy shrugged elegantly and leant back on one hand, tilting her head to the sky and imagining that it was swirling with one of her sister's electric storms. "Something like that."
"Good," the blonde said. "I don't have time for your whining. If we're going to get out of here, you can't be curled up in a ball somewhere. Now, would somebody please destroy that thing?" she demanded, gesturing in the direction the High Minister's voice was being projected from.
Stormy tilted her head consideringly, her dark curls shifting with the movement. "We're not supposed to break stuff around here, but maybe it's okay if I calmly disconnect it."
"... after that we'll be having cupcakes and tea on the north lawn while…"
Stormy pushed herself off the grass, winding her way through the nearby trees until she found a knot on one that didn't look quite real. The guards watched her curiously but didn't intervene as she found the seam where it connected to the tree and began to pry it loose. With a grunt from her, and a sizzle of electricity from the speaker it finally came loose, bringing with it a tangle of wires and a gaping hole in the tree. To their dismay the High Minister's voice continued to speak from it.
"... and now to get your spirit soaring, here's an uplifting number from Crissy Cutebutton."
"You've got to be kidding me," Stormy said in a tightly controlled voice while her fingers dug so hard into the speaker that dents started to appear.
"Stormy," Icy hissed, when the speaker began playing a sweet tune. "I feel like I'm going to gag."
"So many memories, and so many miles, the road that stretches behind us. We've had some laughter, and our share of tears, but all these moments unite us."
"Alright that does it," Stormy growled, and, using all her strength, hurled the speaker away. "Shut up," she yelled when the speaker didn't go nearly far enough and they could still hear the singing.
"I'll be your friend for a lifetime, against the wind, and the rain of every season. Won't walk away in the hard times, I will be your friend."
Stormy stalked towards it and kicked it as hard as she could, sending it another hundred feet. Infuriatingly, the music didn't get any softer.
"I'm saying I will be your friend. Sure as the river runs to the sea, high as the mountain that reaches, you were there by my side 'til the end, and helped me on my feet again."
"I can still hear it," Darcy said, just in case Stormy wasn't aware. "Stormy," Darcy snapped when her coven sister did nothing but screech a little and tug at her curls. "I can still hear it!"
"I'll be your friend for a lifetime, against the wind, and the rain of every season. Won't walk away in the hard times, I will be your friend. I'm saying, I will be your friend."
"Stop the insanity!" Stormy wailed over the singer's shrill voice, and Darcy and Icy rolled their eyes in unison.
"Make it stop, Darcy," Icy said through gritted teeth, glaring at the guards who seemed impassive to their pain.
The brunette sighed but clambered to her feet to help Stormy search. Together they looked in bushes and up trees, scowling everytime they unearthed yet another speaker.
"So in the valley walk on, don't have to face it alone, 'cause in the hard times we keep growing strong."
"Just die," Darcy hissed, hitting a speaker disguised with a rock with another rock. Or what she thought was a rock, until she looked closer and realised with horror that the music was coming from it as well.
"As we learn, as we live, that we live when we give."
Stormy dived into a bush with a shriek, convinced that it had to be hiding yet another speaker, while Darcy slumped on the ground, giving up, and Icy watched on shaking her head. Behind them, the guards remained unmoved; as long as they weren't hurting each other or the other guests they were content to let them continue.
"I'll be your friend for a lifetime, against the wind, and the rain of every season. Won't walk away in the hard times, I will be your friend. I'm saying, I will be your friend."
"We are so fucked," Icy muttered, as the song finally wound down. With a sigh, she flopped onto her back and looked up at the annoyingly clear sky.
"I will be your friend."
Bloom balanced her head in her hand, resisting the urge to shut her eyes and doze off. Shaking herself a little, she tried to sit up and pay attention, but for a moment all she could see was Asterin's pale face and the voice from her dream the night before.
'You did this. You did this to me.'
"What can you girls tell me about opposites?"
Lysippe's voice cut through the classroom and Bloom jerked a little in her seat. Up the front the professor was lecturing, rare for her, and Bloom forced herself to concentrate and start filling her blank page with notes.
"I just read in Teen Fairy's dating column that opposites attract," Amaryl said, lazing in her seat with a smirk.
Lysippe looked unimpressed and the smirk slowly disappeared from Amaryl's face as she coughed awkwardly and straightened in her seat.
Lysippe raised an eyebrow, and glanced around the classroom. "Anyone else?"
Tecna raised her hand, and when the professor called on her said, "The Magical Dimension is full of opposites because magic relies on balance. For every action, there is an equal reaction, and without this it's very dangerous. It's why there are magic users who use positive emotions to fuel their magic, and magic users who use negative emotions, and those who use both. Or why we can only use magic for a certain length of time before we run out."
"Good," Lysippe said. "Understanding the balance of the universe and your magic is integral to a Guardian Fairy. And of course, using negative emotions to fuel magic is different from using actual dark magic. Dark magic tips the balance of the universe and is why the Guardian network exists to combat these dark forces."
Her words washed over Bloom, fading into a dull drone until it became increasingly hard for her to keep her eyes open, made only worse when Lysippe crossed the room and turned off the light. The professor summoned a small ball of green light to her hand.
"What I hold here is called paradoxical energy; in a dark room it becomes a ball of light. But when I turn the lights back on." Here Lysippe flipped the switch again and the overhead lights flicked back on. "It becomes imperceptible." Sure enough her hand was still cupped as though holding something, but the paradoxical energy had become invisible. "Anyone can see a light in a room full of darkness, but it takes a combination of strong magical power and awareness to see the darkness in a room full of light."
Bloom tilted her head, interest momentarily piqued. She thought she'd be good at finding the evil person in a room full of good, but remembering her encounter with Diaspro at the exhibition last year she realised maybe that wasn't the case. Concorda's voice tickled the back of her mind, something about keeping her eyes peeled for danger, but Bloom was too tired to remember her exact words.
"Enadred's rule of opposing forces states that all opposites exist both…" Lysippe's voice faded back into its dull drone, and Bloom found herself yawning and fading out until the blare of the school bell woke her out of her stupor twenty minutes later.
"I want those reports on my desk by Friday," Lysippe called over the scraping of chair legs. "But I suggest you start on them sooner rather than later. We're going to start applying the practical functions Enadred's theory tomorrow in class."
"Shit," Bloom cursed, looking down at her blank notebook; she had a lot of reading to do that night.
"By the Dragon, what a drag that was," Stella said as the group of friends slowly made their way out of the classroom, lagging behind everyone else who were eager to get out of their last class of the day.
"Yeah, so much for it just being intros and outlines." Musa was so tired that she didn't even notice her pigtails were askew.
"At least it's over now," Tecna said, shoving her notebook into her bag.
"Yeah, but how much homework have we got already," Bloom pointed out, thinking about the chapter Callas had told them to read, the summary on wind patterns they had to write for Faylinn, and a detailed plan for what to do when confronted by beetleroaches for Palladium's class.
Stella hushed her. "All I want to do now is get back to the dorm and slip into a nice, warm bath."
"We don't have a bath," Musa reminded her.
The dreamy look disappeared from Stella's face. "Oh, right. That was the one perk of my palace."
"Besides," Flora said. "I was thinking we could stop by the infirmary and try to sneak in."
The others exchanged looks and Bloom shrugged.
"Beats doing homework," Musa said, and they changed course to head for the infirmary instead.
The closer they got the more guards they seemed to see, their gold amour buffed to perfection and standing out starkly against their dark skin. Each guard stood perfectly still, staring straight ahead with eyes that ranged from pale sea greens to shades of onyx so deep the iris was almost indistinguishable from the pupil. They paid the girls no mind so, squaring their shoulders, the five friends made for the door to the infirmary stopping short only when the two guards standing on either side abruptly crossed their tridents, barring their entry. The weapons were easily as long as the guards were tall and made of the same polished gold as their amour. The end came to three razor points, so sharp that Bloom thought a mere brush of a fingertip against would draw blood. She could see runes etched along the shafts of the tridents but not having the opportunity to study runes until the following year, Bloom had no idea what they meant.
"What is your business here?" One of the guards rumbled and Bloom noticed that his trident was the only one that wasn't identical to the others. Where the others were unadorned beyond the runes, this guard's trident had a striking, blue gem set into the middle point.
They were all speechless except for Stella, who opened her mouth to no doubt unleash all manner of snarky retorts. But the guards were saved from the tongue lashing when the very door they were guarding flew open.
"Well, I never," Ofelia gasped, seeing the crossed tridents. "Is this strictly necessary?"
The guards ignored her, continuing to stare at the teenagers suspiciously. Behind them, Ofelia's eyes narrowed.
"I'll remind you," she began haughtily. "That you were permitted to guard my infirmary on the basis that your presence wouldn't disturb my work. Now are you going to let these students come in and get the healing they require? Or," she continued dangerously when the guards gave no indication that they were willing to move. "Am I going to have to get the headmistress?"
The guard with the unadorned trident wavered before looking to his companion, who, Bloom was willing to bet, was his superior. The other guard narrowed his eyes at the girls but relented, jerking his trident back to his side, the other guard following a heartbeat later. The girls ducked their heads and hurried in, waiting until Ofelia had shut the door behind them to speak.
"Thank you, Ofelia," Flora said. "But we weren't actually in need of any healing. We were the ones who found that girl the other night and we just wondered how she was doing."
Ofelia smiled a little sadly and gestured for them to follow her down the row of beds, stopping at the only occupied one.
"That's really nice of you girls. I'm sure Miss Asherah would appreciate the company if she was awake."
"Has she woken up at all?" Bloom asked in dismay, looking down to where the girl was still sleeping, dark hair spilling across the crisp white sheets.
"It's Winx Depletion Syndrome. She drained herself so completely of magic that it physically exhausted her."
"Is it serious?"
"It can be, but I think she's going to be just fine. The worst of it is behind her. It's just important that she be allowed to rest as long as she needs, which is why I couldn't allow her parents to take her home yet."
"Her parents?"
"The King and Queen of Andros," Ofelia said, voice dropping to a whisper as she glanced furtively at the closed door. "Surely you noticed all the guards outside? Although I don't know who they think would be stupid enough to attack her here."
"So, she is a Princess then?" Stella asked with a pointed look at Tecna, who ignored her.
Ofelia nodded. "Princess Layla."
Stella glanced at the girl, Layla, again, something like recognition sparkling in her eyes but she didn't speak.
"Feel free to sit with her a while, I'm afraid she hasn't had many visitors."
"What do you mean?" Bloom asked with a frown as the others dragged some chairs over. "Aren't her parents staying here."
Ofelia hesitated. "The King and Queen are very busy," she finally said, voice careful. "They have many matters to attend to."
Bloom's frown deepened, thinking of the parents who had come all the way from their home planet only to never see their daughter, and of all the guards lining the hallway outside. All those people around her and yet the Princess was still all alone.
"Actually, I'm glad you girls stopped by; I have to go down to the labs to restock my potion supplies but I might be a while and I was worried about leaving her alone in case she woke up. Will you girls stay with her while I'm gone?"
They assured her they would and Ofelia bustled off, closing the door firmly behind her. On the bed the girl, Layla, tossed her head a little, mumbling in her sleep. They all leant in eagerly but after a moment she settled again, her eyes remaining closed.
"So, I guess this is her," Tecna said, gesturing to the girl's prone form. "The great catalyst for change."
Bloom nodded glumly, propping her feet up on the edge of the bed. There was a heartbeat of silence, as if they were all waiting for something miraculous to happen, but all Layla did was sigh a little and turn her head to face the other way.
"She's also a new friend though, right?" Flora said. "I wonder what she's like?"
"Royals are usually the worst," Musa said, and Bloom kicked her lightly, raising her eyebrows as if to remind Musa that two of her best friends were royalty. Musa grinned in response.
"You know her, Stel?"
Stella shrugged - an elegant movement - and withdrew a nail file from her pocket. "A bit. I think we've been to a few of the same galas but I don't really remember talking to her much. Androsians tend to keep to themselves."
Layla gave a gasp so loud and sudden that Bloom jerked upright and Tecna almost fell off her chair in surprise. Even Stella put her file away and looked on with interest. The Princess' pretty face scrunched up in distress and she tossed her head back and forth, eyes still tightly shut.
"No," she mumbled, speaking for the first time, and across her sleeping form Bloom met Flora's eye. "No, please. Get away!" Layla's voice rose in both volume and fear, but throughout it all she remained asleep.
Flora half rose from her chair. "Should I go get Ofelia?"
Before she could stand fully or the others could make a decision, a movement from the little side table that separated Layla's bed from the next one over, drew their attention. What had previously appeared to be a lump of cloth was suddenly unfurling, and a head of mauve curls was peeking out the top. The girls exchanged glances before looking back at the pixie who seemed to take no notice of them as she rubbed her eyes and crawled from the nest of blankets.
"Layla?" she asked sleepily, frowning when she took in the fairy's distressed state.
The pixie sat back on her heels and withdrew a draw-string pouch that was secured to her belt. Opening it, she took out a handful of the purple, glittery sand inside and scattered it over Layla's sleeping form, the girl immediately settling, and sighing, as she slipped back into a calm sleep.
Flora leant forward eagerly. "Was that Sweet Dream Dust?"
The pixie startled a little as if noticing them for the first time, and blinked rapidly as she took them in.
"Of course," she said in a sweet, dreamy voice. "I'm a pixie of Sweet Dreams. Goodnight." And before the girls could ask anymore questions, the pixie had crawled back into the pile of blankets and fallen back asleep, the sound of quiet, little snores emanating from the heap.
"Amazing," Flora breathed, touching her finger to the stray sand grains that clung to the otherwise pristine white sheets. She held her finger up to get a closer look and immediately let out a wide yawn. "Sweet Dream pixies are one of the few sources of naturally occurring sleep aides. People have tried to recreate it synthetically but the results are never…." Flora paused and yawned again. "... never as good."
She started to rub her eyes and Stella made an impatient noise, leaning over to brush the Sweet Dream Dust from her friend's skin.
"Thanks," Flora said, still sounding a little sleepy, and the girls lapsed into silence, pondering what they could talk about while they watched the sleeping girl.
Stella looked at Bloom across the bed, weighing the words she wanted to say. "Bloom," she finally said carefully. "Did you hear about the Trix?"
The other girls reacted immediately; Musa stiffening and glaning between Bloom and Stella, Tecna suddenly becoming engrossed in her phone, and Flora biting her lip and wringing her hands nervously.
For most of the summer Bloom hadn't wanted to know what became of the Trix. They haunted her enough already, in both her dreams and her waking hours, and Rhonwen made her talk about them in every session. Her connectix account had been flooded with mentions of them however, news articles about their highly publicised trial, speculation about what punishment the justice conclave would choose, people recounting their actions left, right, and centre. It meant however that the second the decision was made, Bloom had heard about it.
'The witches known as Icy, Darcy, and Stormy, will be held in the rehabilitation facility, Light Haven Retreat, for an indefinite period until it can be determined that they have seen the error of their ways and show real repentance for their actions. At which point they will be allowed to rejoin magical society."
Bloom had read and reread the words more times than she could count; still even had the scar on her forearm from where upon first hearing the news she had, full of feelings of anger and injustice, thrown herself overzealously into the day's roller derby match and come off worse for it. The anger at the justice fairies decision, as well as the knowledge that the Trix would someday be allowed to rejoin society, still simmered deep within Bloom, but for the sake of the worried looks on her friend's faces she forced herself to remain calm.
"Yeah, I heard," she said lightly, when all she wanted to do was scream. "It is what it is, right?"
"It's shit," Musa said bluntly, looking at her with a fierce, dark gaze.
Bloom just shrugged. "What can you do? Maybe they really will be rehabilitated."
Musa looked like she highly doubted that, but, surprising Bloom, didn't argue the point. Just nodded a little and let it go.
"Well, I heard Light Haven is the worst. It's supposed to be horribly cute and all about positive thinking," Flora said,
"You're saying it's horribly cute?" Stella said accusingly, gesturing to the sweet strawberry clips that she was wearing in her hair.
The girl giggled and nodded.
"If that's the case then I guess they got their punishment after all."
"Good," Tecna said suddenly, surprising them all with her vehemence. "It's what they deserve."
Before anyone could remark on her words, Layla made another soft noise and when they glanced at her it was to see her eyes slowly fluttering open. They all sat up, watching as she rubbed her eyes before bringing her hand back to look at the dream dust that was now coating her fingers.
"Hey there," Flora said gently, and the smile on Layla's face immediately disappeared.
She pushed herself up and back against the metal bars of the headboard, looking at them all warily. "Who are you? Where am I?"
"You're at Alfea, you turned up on the grounds a few days ago."
Layla's eyes shuttered closed and she grimaced. "The school for fairies in Magix. That makes sense."
"It does?" Musa asked, raising an eyebrow.
Layla didn't answer. "And you're all students here?"
"Yeah, I'm Flora. And this is Bloom, Musa, Tecna, and Stella. We were the ones who found you the other day."
"Layla," she said, introducing herself with a wave. "I suppose I owe you guys a thank you then."
"It was nothing. We're just glad you're okay."
"Yeah," Layla said quietly. "Me too."
There was a beat of silence where both parties waited for the other to speak, the girls obviously eager to hear about how Layla had ended up injured and at Alfea, but Layla just looked away. "Hey, Piff," she said, her voice growing happier. "She's here. Is she okay?"
"We think so. She woke up earlier and sprinkled some Sweet Dream Dust on you. You must have been having a nightmare."
"I was." Layla touched Piff's curls gently but didn't wake the slumbering pixie. She slowly looked back at them all, biting her lip.
"Hey," Bloom said kindly. "You can trust us, whatever it is. If you need to talk about what happened to you, we're here."
"It's just-" Layla glanced over her shoulder at the closed door. "I'm guessing you guys know I'm a Princess."
"Of Andros," Tecna said, nodding. "First born of King Teredor and Queen Niobe. Andros is a realm best known for its exquisite oceans and diverse marine life-"
"Tec," Musa said softly, before looking back at Layla.
"Yeah, well, they're pretty protective. And they would be furious if they found out about any of this and would probably never let me out again."
"We can keep a secret," Stella said casually, but her tawny eyes were dark with determination.
Layla took a deep breath. "I was trapped in the Under Realms."
The effect on the girls was instantaneous, many of them gasping and rearing back in their chairs. Bloom, however, was lost.
"What are the Under Realms?"
Musa shook her head and leant back even further in her chair, looking like she wanted to physically distance herself from the mere mention of the place. "Bad place, girl. Bad things happen to you down there."
Flora shivered delicately, and Stella looked unusually grave. "It's like the Magical Dimension's boogie monster," she said. "My parents used to say they'd send me there if I was bad. But they wouldn't. No one goes there."
Tecna made an impatient noise. "Of course people go there." The others looked at her incredulously and she held up her hands. "Okay, not many," she amended, turning to Bloom to explain. "It's a planet that's surface is so barren and unlivable that everyone there went underground to survive. Between that and the fact that they pretty much keep to themselves, certain rumours have developed about them. So not many people go there, usually just kids on dares trying to prove they're brave."
"Dumbasses," Musa muttered, and Flora nodded fervently.
"Well," Layla said slowly. "I didn't just go down into the under realms. I went to Shadowhaunt."
Stella yelped, Flora shuddered and made a gesture like she was warding off evil, and even Tecna looked stunned.
"I'm assuming no one goes to Shadowhaunt either," Bloom said. Tecna shook her head wordlessly.
"The rumours about it are true," Layla said miserably. "I've never been to a place with such negativity energy. But I had to!" she burst out. "I had to go!"
"Hey," Bloom said gently, touching her hand. "It's okay. Just start from the beginning."
Layla nodded. "When I was a little girl on a trip to Magix I snuck away from my parents and discovered a pixie village not too far." A sad smile played around Layla's lips. "They were funny and nice and I made friends with them, I even bonded with Piff when I was older. My parents weren't massively keen on it all, they didn't understand why I would want to hang out with them I guess, but they would let me go back and visit them sometimes. This last time I snuck off and went on my own because I didn't want guards hanging over me.
"But when I was on my way there, I found one of the pixies, Lockette, hiding from a bunch of monsters. She and some of the others had been out picking fruit for the Autumn festival when they were attacked. She's a pixie of Portals so she was able to find the best place to hide but the monsters took the others. Lockette knew there were more monsters out there and she was worried about leading them back to her village. The pixies are stronger than you'd think and put up a good fight, but even they wouldn't have been able to take on these monsters.
"We couldn't go back, but with her powers Lockette was able to work out where the others had been taken. They'd been taken to Shadowhaunt. I tried to get them out but-" Layla broke off and looked away, pressing her lips tightly together.
"What happened, Layla?"
"This thing was keeping them in a cage. I don't even know how to describe it. It looked like a person but I've never come across anything like it before."
"It's okay," Musa said, sounding unusually soft. "You got out of there."
"But he still has my friends. And I don't know what he's going to do to them. And I have to save them, but my parents will never let me if they find out."
"We'll tell Faragonda, she'll alert the Guardian network, and they'll send a team immediately to rescue them."
But Layla shook her head wildly at Tecna's suggestion. "No! It had to be me. I left them behind, I should never have left them."
Flora shuffled closer and slipped an arm around the distraught girl's shoulders. Layla stiffened at the contact before relaxing again.
"It wasn't your fault, Layla."
Layla didn't look like she believed Flora's words but she didn't argue. Instead she met Bloom's eyes. "I need to be the one to save them."
Bloom stared at her for a long moment. "Okay," she said finally. "Then we're going with you."
"You don't have to do that."
"Yeah, we do." It was Stella who spoke this time. "This is what we're training to do, and besides we can't let you go back there alone."
"There's still the issue of my parents," Layla reminded her.
Bloom glanced around at her friends, a smile starting to tug at her mouth as she thought of all the times they'd broken the rules and snuck around last year. Musa, reading her mind, was already grinning. "I'm sure we can work something out." She looked back at Layla, the Princess' dark eyes guarded but Bloom thought she saw a glimmer of hope shining through as well. "All for one and one for all."
The Lord of Shadowhaunt lounged in his throne glaring at the empty room and thinking about how he was going to make those insolent pixies pay for continuing to defy him. The very thought of their terrified faces had him gouging deep grooves into the arms of his throne with his talons.
There was a shuffle from the corner of the room. "Was there anything you needed, my Lord?"
The Lord sighed and shifted, thinking.
"The plan," he said, instead of answering. "Is it ready?"
"Yes, my Lord. Just a few more days and everything will be set in motion."
He remained quiet, knowing it made his companion nervous, before finally humming noncommittally. He was missing something, he just wasn't sure what.
"Those witches," he said finally.
"I'm sorry my Lord, which witches?"
"The ones you were telling me about."
"Ah, the ones who summoned the Army of Decay."
"Yes. Clever, clever, clever."
"But young, my Lord," his companion reminded him. "And they were defeated." There was a warning in his companion's voice and a flicker of irritation flashed through him at the insolence. An irritation that cemented the half-formed idea in his head.
"And where did you say they were being held again?"
His companion didn't immediately answer, a half-breath of a sigh escaping him. The Lord's irritation mountain and his talons punched through the arm of his throne.
"Light Haven, my Lord," his companion said hurriedly.
A chuckle escaped the Lord, and he delighted in the way it made his companion shudder. Rising from the throne he stretched and shifted, revelling in the feeling of his shadowed wings unfurling.
"Might I ask where you are going, my Lord?"
The Lord grinned. "For a field trip."
Darcy blew out a gentle breath trying to ignore how hot the thick robe felt against her skin in the late afternoon sun, and watched as a couple walked past hand in hand.
"Ah," she said through gritted teeth. "What a beautiful couple." Her words were stiff with her discomfort but she forced herself to continue. "Young love is the fruit on which my happiness feeds. All you need is love."
She stopped and waited expectantly but there was only silence. She sighed and forced herself to sit up. "Come on, ladies," she said to the other two. "Try it out."
Icy glared at her where she was idly swinging back and forth on a hammock stretched between two trees. Nearby Stormy was sitting at the base of a tree, quivering with rage as she was slowly but completely covered in flowers falling from the tree's branches.
"Stormy."
Stormy just growled at her.
"Icy!"
"Fine," the blonde snapped. "Oh, how the blossoms dance in the breeze on this lovely afternoon, it makes me oh so happy." Icy's voice seethed with barely contained fury.
"Life is such a beautiful and precious thing," Stormy spat out quickly, looking disgusted by the words.
Darcy sighed. "If we're gonna try and get out on good behaviour, you guys might wanna sound a little more convincing."
Stormy bared her teeth at her before saying slowly and purposefully, "I. Am. So. Overcome. With. Peace. And-"
"Oh forget it, Stormy," Icy sighed, throwing an arm over her eyes. "It's useless."
Darcy opened her mouth to retort but before she got a word out there was a rumble of ominous thunder and dark, threatening clouds billowed across the sky. Icy slowly peeked out from under her arm, while Darcy and Stormy exchanged glances.
"What's going on?" Icy asked, as she sat up and slid off the hammock.
They glanced at their guards standing nearby, who were muttering amongst themselves and shooting worried looks at the sky. A sudden crack of lightning touched down nearby only made their worry increase.
Stormy meanwhile let out a cackle of laughter. "Finally some decent weather!"
"Back to your dorms," one of the guards barked and began to usher them out of the meadow. Nearby other guests were doing the same.
"This looks really bad!" Darcy said, her voice gleeful.
"Yes. Isn't it great?"
They had almost reached the gate leading out of the meadow when the very air in front of them seemed to rip open and a tall, armoured man stepped through. The Trix's guards charged forward but the man swept them away with a lazy flick of his hand. The guards hit the ground hard and didn't move again.
"Oh my," Icy said silkily, looking between them and the man in front of them.
"It's get out of jail free time, ladies."
"Oooh, I like him," Darcy cooed.
Through the gaps of his helmet, Icy could see the man grin. "It's time to go."
"My mother told me never to talk to strangers."
The man watched them standing their ground for a moment before taking Icy's hand and bringing it to where his lips would be behind the helmet. Icy smirked.
"You can call me Lord Darkar. Now are you coming? Or do you want to stay here and keep learning to love thy neighbour."
Icy looked first at Darcy who raised her eyebrows, and then at Stormy, who was grinning maniacally at Darkar.
"I suppose you'll do."
Darkar chuckled and gestured for them to go through the rip he'd emerged from. The Trix grinned at each other and stalked forward. They were less impressed however when they realised they had only been taken so far as the courtyard where they did their affirmations.
"Well, that was lame," Darcy sighed, even though it did give her a thrill of joy to see everyone running for cover.
"Did you really think I was going to break you out without letting you have some fun? But first, we must do something about those robes."
Red swirls of magic erupted from Darkar's hands and immediately their sack-like beige robes disappeared, replaced with the clothes from their old wardrobes. How Darkar had gotten them, the Trix didn't know, but in that moment they didn't particularly care either.
"Now, how about we restore your powers next?" Darkar crooned, more magic spilling from his palms.
They felt the change as soon as it happened, like a pressure lifting off their chests. Stormy immediately laughed another of her cackling laughs and thrusted her hands into the air, electric bolts raining down on the courtyard all around them. Darcy let out her own delighted chuckle as dark, black and purple magic appeared, shrouding her hands in darkness. Icy however merely stood, a hand on her hip, staring at Darkar expectantly.
"My dear?" he enquired.
"Well, is that it?" she demanded. "You give us our regular old powers back and we're supposed to fall at your feet?"
Darkar cocked his head, regarding her curiously. He couldn't remember the last time someone had been so bold to address him in such a manner, but something about it made him smile and want to reward her courage. So he summoned three pieces of jewellery he'd tucked away long ago.
"I suppose I do have these."
Icy, Darcy, and Stormy's eyes immediately narrowed on the jewellery. Even without touching them or knowing their origins they could feel how old they were and how much power was contained in the simple, dull pendants. They immediately snatched for them but Darkar jerked them back at the last minute, laughing openly at the hateful looks they threw his way.
"Not so fast. By accepting these you'll also be accepting my offer to join me, and all the perks that that entails."
"Yes, yes," Icy hissed impatiently. "Fine. Now give it."
Darkar laughed again and tossed the necklace her way, a bracelet going to Darcy and Stormy each. They wasted no time pulling them on. Icy's necklace of scratched silver, and pale, blue gems went around her throat, Stormy's bracelet of dented bronze and chipped rubies around her right wrist, and Darcy's tarnished gold and amethyst bracelet around her left wrist. Despite their shabby appearance, power thrummed through the jewellery and into the witches.
"That's better," Icy purred, flexing her fingers as ice began to form on them.
"You're welcome," Darkar said silkily. "Now, I have a little going away present for you."
He gestured ahead of him where an entire company of guards were barrelling towards them, weapons in hand.
"I'm going to enjoy this," Stormy grinned.
Darcy allowed the guards to get a look at her ferocious grin before she swept a hand towards them, purple magic exploding from her palm, stopping them dead. For a moment it looked as though her magic had had no effect, but she knew that the spell was working to convince the guards that they could see nothing but endless darkness. Only a few seconds later and more than half the company had dropped their weapons to claw at their eyes. It was a hard spell to maintain on them all at once though, even with her increased powers, however, and slowly those with stronger minds began to break through the illusion.
"Nicely done, Darcy," Icy said. "Now me and Stormy will finish them off."
Stormy conjured the twister first and Icy added snow to it, sending the circling snow storm at the guards before they had a chance to scatter. Those who weren't caught up in and flung far away, were instantly frozen solid, and either way the threat was suddenly rendered moot.
"That's the problem with positive thinkers," Icy chuckled, walking up to one of the guards, and dragging her nails down the ice covering his cheek. "They just never know when it's time to give up."
"Nicely done, ladies," Darkar complimented them. He waved an arm and another portal appeared. "Now it's time for you to join me in my castle. We have work to do."
Oh man, this chapter (especially the scenes with Icy, Darcy, and Stormy) were tons of fun to write.
This has to be one of my favourite episodes just for the Trix scenes (seriously if you have not seen this episode in the 4kids dub, you gotta do it, I freaking die every time). I decided to just go full cult with the Light Haven scenes, and they were fun as to write, so I hope you enjoyed them. If you're the curious, the song I used in the first Light Haven scene in the meadow was called I'll Be Your Friend by Micheal J Smith (it's super sappy - for the full experience, listen to it while you read that scene).
I don't think there's much to say in this A/N except that I'm sorry it took me a while to get this out, life has been crazy as always. I also have two series of Winx Club one shots and drabbles you guys should check out.
Just gonna mention again that I took inspo from the amazing Drops-of-moonlights on tumblr for the pixies' design. He has his own rewrite AU that you should all definitely check out.
Stay safe everyone and don't forget to tell me what you thought of the chapter xxxx