A New Winter Ch. 01
TRIGGER WARNING: Mentions of Rape and Sexual Assault.
Bloom steps out of the portal and finds herself back home on Earth. The princess just got news that she is not entirely sure how to take. The young woman just needed space. Sky, her friends, and birth parents believe that she is staying with her adoptive parents in Gardenia, while she told her adoptive parents that she is too busy with royal duties.
The Fairy of the Dragon Flame sighs and looks at her wedding ring. She could not help but smile. it has been five years since they finally got married and she could not be happier. Neither could her family.
Family.
The fairy remembers when that just meant her adoptive parents on Earth. Then, she discovered Alfea and that expanded to her friends, her birth family, Sky and his family, and now…
Any other thoughts were interrupted by something struggling in her purse. Bloom opens it only to find a familiar pair of long blue ears. "Kiko? How long have you been there?" the rabbit makes some gestures. "Sorry, I'm not visiting my parents here. I need time to think." She tells the rabbit who pats her hand in comfort. "Thank you," the fairy smiles and goes to continue her walk.
Something then catches Bloom's eyes as she spots a head full of long white hair. "Icy?" the fairy has not seen any of the Trix in years. Not since they had all their magic stripped from them and banished to Earth. The Witch of Ice is casually strolling through the streets carrying grocery bags. Instead of the usual dark blue leather the fairy is used to seeing the woman wearing, she is in jeans, tennis shoes, and a dark blue coat.
Bloom's first instinct was to turn and walk away. But perhaps this is the sort of distraction she needs. Most people are probably wondering what the Trix are up to these days. Magic or not. Plus, it is not like having no magic has never stopped them before.
So, the princess of Domino follows the witch. She is led to a small apartment no more than two blocks from where Icy was first spotted. Bloom felt sorry as the witch started struggling with the grocery bags and her purse, dropping one of the bags. Icy sighs as she sets the other bag down and starts gathering her other groceries.
Against her better judgment, Bloom approaches Icy. "Need any help?"
The witch looks up at the fairy in surprise before glaring. "No, I don't! Especially not from a fairy!" Icy picks both bags up and is once again, struggling with her purse. She turns to see Bloom with a sympathetic look, holding her arms out. "Fine!" and shoves one of the bags into the fairy's arms before fishing out a key from the purse.
Bloom suddenly feels a rush of nausea working up her throat. When the door cracks open, the first thing she registers was the waste basket in sight.
Icy turns to Bloom, "Now give me my bag and—Hey!" she shouts as the redhead pushes past her.
Not paying attention to anything else, Bloom tosses the bag on a counter before leaning over the waste basket and emptying her stomach contents. She can feel Kiko patting her head.
The witch watches over Bloom with a blank stare. Icy sets her purse and the bag on the counter. Then, she pulls out a tea pot from one of the cabinets, a tea bag from another, and starts heating a pot of water.
Bloom wipes her mouth. "Sorry about that," she gets up to leave. "I'll be going now."
"Sit."
"What?"
"I said sit!" Icy pushes Bloom into a chair at the counter.
"I don't have to do anything you tell me to do," the fairy stands back up.
"You will this time."
"What are you going to do about it? I have magic, you don't."
"Well then," Icy steps back, arms crossed. "Do something."
Bloom glares at her before letting out an exasperated sigh and takes her seat. However, as soon as she did, the fairy finds herself over the waste basket once again.
"Looks like you wouldn't have made it out the door anyway," Icy tells her as she pours tea into a cup then adds a teaspoon of honey. "Here," the witch sets the tea on the counter as the fairy sits back down. "It'll treat the nausea."
The red head just stares at the cup before hesitantly taking a sip. The fairy sighs as she already feels her stomach calming down. "Thank you."
"I didn't do it for you!" Icy snaps. She takes a deep breath. "So, how far are you?" she asks as Bloom was mid sip and gets thrown into a coughing fit.
"What, what do you mean?"
"Once a woman goes through what you're going through, the signs become obvious," she leans on the counter. As soon as the fairy tilts her head in a questioning way, Icy digs into her purse and pulls out a small picture to hand it to the fairy. The picture contains her along with a small boy with a head of white hair and blue eyes. "His name's Isa."
"You're a mother?"
"Don't look so surprised," Icy snatches the photo away and she soon look upon the photo lovingly.
Bloom looks at the witch's face before looking down, holding a hand to her stomach. "I'm at least five weeks."
Icy looks back at the fairy. "You and your charming husband must be ecstatic?"
"He doesn't know. No one except my doctor," she admits, but soon feels nudge on her arm as Kiko gets her attention. With a laugh, Bloom adds, "And of course you, Kiko," and pets the rabbit.
"Why didn't you tell him? I would think that the great King Sky would love to hear that his beloved Princess is giving him an heir."
"Honestly? I'm a bit scared," Bloom tells her. "I have wonderful parents, but I have no idea how to be a mother myself."
Usually, seeing a fairy in turmoil; especially this fairy would make Icy feel delightful. But not in this situation. "Look, fairy. I'm not going to lie, becoming a parent is scary no matter how you look at it," she leans back. "At least you have friends and family to help you out. Not to mention your baby will have a dad," she mumbles the last part.
"What about your son's dad? Is he around anywhere?"
"Last checked that thing was rotting in morgue somewhere. He got exactly what he deserved," Icy looks up to see the fairy wide eyed in horror. "No, I didn't kill him. He was hit by a car. Though, I wished I was the one behind the wheel," then, she notices the fairy tilting her head. the witch has no idea why she is about to tell her this. "Me having Isa, wasn't exactly a willing choice."
Bloom gasps. "Oh, Icy. I'm sorry."
"I don't need sympathy from a fairy," she glares at the redhead. "I hated myself after that. Hated myself so much, I drove the only people I called family away. I was weak; therefore, I did not deserve them. You know, my original intention was to get ride of him. But when I first heard Isa crying. All I wanted to do was hold him," Icy starts tearing up herself. Then, a pair of arms wraps around her as Bloom hugs her. "Okay, okay!" she pushes the fairy away. "Now get out of my—"
Icy is cut off as the door opens and closes. Standing there is the boy from the picture. The boy looks between the two before making some hand gestures at the witch.
"No, no, everything's fine," Icy insists as the boy makes more gestures and points at Bloom. "Uh? This is…"
"I'm Bloom," the fairy steps up. "I'm a… friend of your mom's. We met in Magix." The boy's eyes widen as he hears that and makes more hand gestures at his mom.
Icy nods. "Yes, Magix is real. Along with witches and fairies," she sees her son making another gesture. "Even the Specialists." After a couple more gestures, the former witch turns to Bloom. "He wants to see proof."
The fairy thinks for a moment before raising her hands. Fire is conjured from her hands as she molds it into the form of a dragon. The Dragon flies around the boy before vanishing.
Isa turns to his mother and tells her something. Icy looks away before telling him. "Maybe someday," then turns back to him. "You have homework?" she asks only to receive a headshake. "That's not what your teacher says. Nice try. Now, go to your room and start on your homework while I prepare dinner."
The boy slouches as he heads out of the kitchen.
Icy shakes her head. "I see so much of myself in him sometimes. The old me would have been proud," turns and starts pulling some pans out of the cabinet.
"You're worried he's too much like you?" all the fairy needed was to see the witch pause in silence. "He seems like a sweet kid. Why can't he talk?"
"Look!" Icy turns to her. "If you insist on sticking around pestering me with questions, then you might as well help make dinner. You can start by chopping the vegetables," she points at the shopping bags.
The fairy smiles as she goes to the bags and starts pulling out some carrots. "Where's the knives?"
"The drawer in front of you."
"Thank you," and Bloom starts chopping.
"The doctors' aren't sure why he can't talk," Icy spoke as she places some chicken on the pan. "He has vocal cords, they're just not functional. But…" she takes a deep breath.
"You have a theory?" the fairy guesses.
"There's been reports that when there's been over exposure to evil magic, it could lead to some birth defects down the line," Icy starts tearing up. "All those stupid grabs for power. Darkar, Voltar, even my stupid ex. My son can't talk because I wanted more."
Seeing this, Bloom walks up to Icy to give her a hug. "So, you've made some mistakes and you regret it. That's a fact of life," the Fairy of the Dragon Flame goes back to the vegetables and bring them to the other pan to dump them in. "What matters is that you're trying to make up for it."
"Not sure I can ever make up for it. Especially with what I've done to him," she wipes her tears away before placing the chicken in the oven. The Ice Witch then lets out an exasperated sigh. "You had to come here. Now, Isa's going to bug me to take him to the Magic Dimension. The one place I'm never allowed to go to again."
Bloom puts the pan of vegetables on the stove. "I could take him."
Icy turns to the fairy to say something. Only to get distracted by the sound of a soft clatter. "One moment," she tells Bloom before opening the window and without looking out, she shouts "Do your homework!"
Bloom looks out the same window to see Isa crawling into another one. "He's adventurous."
"You have no idea," the stories Icy could tell the fairy. "You really think that I'm going to allow you take my son out?"
"I-I don't know," the fairy admits. "It might be good for him to see where his mom comes from."
The witch approaches her with a stern glare. "You won't tell him anything about what I've done?"
"I wasn't planning on it."
"Fine," the white-haired woman sighs. "But you'll need to know at least the basics in sign language."
At that Bloom smiles at her.