Magix was enveloped in utter darkness. Buildings in a grey glow, people wearing black assembled in the town centre. Everyone gathered, from commoners to kings and queens. There was silence in the crowd, no one dared to breathe too loud. Griffin cried in Griselda's arms, Palladium twisted his hair back into a braid and contained his emotions well. The King of Eraklyon wore the face of a monarch who attended simply so that no one could object.
Stella stood by her father's side, eyeing her mother who was just far enough away not to be associated with King Radius. Layla was next to her parents while the rest of the Winx were in a group with their families. It seemed that the only thing that could unite them all was a funeral.
Faragonda was dead.
When the news first broke she was sure it was a mistake, a misunderstanding. But then they saw the body and Stella couldn't deny it. The Headmistress of Alfea was murdered. And she was secretly glad of it.
Faragonda was found in the midst of a bloodbath. The Council had apparently built a special underground dungeon with the sole purpose of imprisoning Bloom. And it had been broken out of by Bloom's very rage. The remaining guards managed to pull up security footage from the prison and the Winx were left horrified.
Bloom had slaughtered them mercilessly. Every single one of them. The rest of the girls and faculty cursed at her, barely managing to watch as she killed her way through, feeling sorry for the lives lost. But Stella's focus was on Bloom the entire time. On every scar, gash and misplaced bone. At the clear tear in her wings.
She had been brutally tortured, and broken repeatedly. And Faragonda had known about it just like Stella had feared.
Then they showed them a brief recording recovered from one of the fallen council soldiers, taken mere seconds before his death. Valtor stood on the field, clutching at Bloom as if she were a treasure he had found after centuries.
He had her, which meant that she was safe, as ironic as that sounded. She remembered taking a couple of steps back, before jolting out of the room and ignoring all the voices calling back for her.
She transformed, broke through the barrier with a renouncing spell and flew straight to the Cloud Tower. She didn't care that Valtor would probably kill her on sight.
She had to get to Bloom.
Candles flickered on the moist walls. The air smelled of earth and evergreen plants. Sets of hooved legs circled her in a rush.
Maybe she was dreaming.
But dreams weren't known to be this realistic. Pain shot through her body as soon as she breathed and became aware she was lying on her stomach. Suddenly, a pair of orange eyes appeared directly in front of her and she screeched in surprise. The little creature with horns in her hair made a sound similar to a squeak and spoke something in a language Bloom didn't understand.
"Mila, be watchful of our guest please," an unfamiliar female voice spoke from somewhere behind her.
"What-" she tried to ask, but her voice gave out and she was yet again met with darkness.
Stella's body was shivering as she exhaled in front of the gates of Cloud Tower. She had to do this. Her fingers pushed the doors gently and they creaked as they opened. The hall in front of her was in total darkness, not a single candle shining along it. Spiderwebs covered most of the sconces and furniture as if the castle had been abandoned for years.
She entered, tiptoeing as she summoned a glowing orb to see where she was going, making her way to where she remembered the main office to be. But as she found the door and pushed it open, it too was entirely empty. As if no one had ever been here.
"Bloom!" she shouted and heard her voice echo. There had been no response. She tried going to the dungeons and look through each of the bars, thinking that maybe she was wrong and Valtor had trapped her. But Bloom wasn't in the cells. Nor in any of the rooms.
Stella was covered in sweat and filled with anxiety by the time she reached the last one. Why wasn't she there? Where had he taken her?
She fell to her knees and began to cry.
Bloom heard the crashing of voices and then silence as her eyes opened once again. The same girl with orange eyes was next to her. Along with one of the most beautiful women Bloom had ever seen. She was a fairy, but there was such grace and power to her presence.
Bloom blinked. The fairy was sitting in a chair resembling a throne. Her eyes stared down at Bloom as if she was the only thing she was aware of in the room. "Who are you?" Bloom managed to ask, her voice raspy.
"You have been through quite a few months Princess of Domino."
Next to her throne sat multiple small creatures, also seeming to be fairies, with wings, hooves and horns. She was racking her brain for the last thing she could remember, but all it did was shoot a jolt of pain through her head. Maybe it was an aftereffect of what those councilmen did to her. Or maybe her memories were damaged permanently and she would never know which ones were missing. All but one. All but one that was still guarded by walls of fire.
"Who are you?" she repeated, trying to hold her gaze, but her eyes kept closing. The fairy smiled.
"My name, little fairy, is Sibylla."
"Stella," her father shook her gently. "Darling, you and the girls are being called to the stage." Radius looked into her eyes and Stella wondered what he was seeing. Did she look pale, and distressed? Sad even? Or was the anger seeping out of her visible? All the cracks showing in her perfectly placed facade.
"Are you doing alright darling?" Stella shook her head and straightened her posture. The rest of the Winx were already moving towards the microphones and she knew what kind of effect it would leave if she didn't join them. But her stomach felt as if it were knotted. She climbed the podium overlooking the large crowd and sucked in a breath. More than half of the Magical dimension must have been present. The rest of the girls gave her sideways glances as Layla stood in front of everybody and began to speak.
How wonderful Faragonda was, how kind and selfless, how sad we all are to have lost her. Lies, all lies, Stella thought to herself. No one saw through Faragonda's manipulation and now no one would. She would be remembered as a hero. While Bloom will be painted as an enemy.
She dug her nails into her skin in order to calm herself. It would do no good to anyone if she had a meltdown right there in the middle of a funeral. Because she wanted to protest. To say that Faragonda didn't deserve praise and glory. That she was a monster. They should all be glad that she was dead.
A cold hand covered her shoulder and Stella turned to see the frame of her mother right behind her. "Mom?" she asked in confusion. Queen Luna tapped her on the back gently which used to be their secret sign for quietly leaving the scene. Her mother's gaze was unflinching and as hard as stone, similar to when she misbehaved as a teenager. "I will escort the Princess and make sure of her health," Luna spoke out loudly and murmurs erupted as Stella was led down and away from the crowd.
Once they were a safe distance away, next to a small river, Stella dared to look at her mother again. "What happened back there?" she asked, breathing normally now. Her mother's eyes instantly softened as she reached out and took her hands. And when Stella opened her palm she saw the reason. Her palms were red as if burnt.
"Smoke started appearing from your hands and your face was as pale as a sheet. I thought it best to get you away. Your father will come after the speech is over," Luna said, kissing both of Stella's hands before releasing them. "The people- they all saw it, didn't they?" her voice was shaking.
Her mother nodded and pulled her into an embrace. Stella cried until her eyes felt sore and empty and the hollow feeling of anger had faded. "Darling?" her father's voice came from behind her and Stella let go of her mother gently. "Radius," Queen Luna nodded in acknowledgement as she stepped away.
No matter how much they both loved her, Stella knew that the bond between her parents could never be mended. The realization was hurtful as if it would be for any child, but she tried to convince herself that it was for the best. Yet, she cherished moments like these, when they could at least both be there for her in a time of need.
"You were thinking about your friend, weren't you?" her father said with a sad smile. He had liked Bloom from her stories and because she had saved his life, but he idolized Faragonda and had been her friend for decades before they were born. Stella knew she couldn't blame him for not understanding her point of view, and yet she wished desperately that he could.
He stared at her fragile, sleeping form. It had been three days since he had found her and he couldn't contain the relief which followed it. He had almost convinced himself that she was dead, but then-
He was in the middle of a planet whose name or importance he now couldn't remember when he felt it. After dreadful and empty weeks, there it was. A spark.
The man in front of him was on his knees, trembling and ready for Valtor's strike. But it didn't come. The magical force keeping him in place vanished and the wizard evaporated into the air, as if something had summoned him.
Valtor teleported back to Magix instantly and without thinking, following the desperate pleading of her voice. Even through their connection, he could tell she was weakened and scared. He went from place to place, following after the pull in their magic until he came upon a small clearing. His powers were already raging, lightning and wind erupting around him.
And then he saw her.
And the world seemed to slow just for a little bit.
He took in the blood and the sheer amount of it made even his stomach turn. It looked as if every inch of her body had been covered in it. Her bones were broken in multiple visible places. Tangles were formed in her hair which was painted red in dried blood sticking it to her neck.
She was firing at the people behind her rapidly, but they were catching up to her. The voice in his mind was weak and tired, but just as desperate as the first time he heard it: Please, she was begging.
During her run, she half turned to send another wave of fire and that is when he saw it.
Along her back were slashes, deep enough to leave intense damage and scarring. But not even that compared to her wings. He didn't want to know how they did it, but Bloom's wing had been torn, almost shredded into two. Cold sweat ran down his face.
They had tortured her. They had touched what was his. And now, now they were going to pay for it. Blue fire inflamed his hands and he was ready to strike them down one by one. But then-
Her watery, exhausted eyes met his and all of the rage melted away for a split second. Bloom cried as she struggled to run and as he watched her get closer his rotten heart seemed to be beating. Her arms opened mere inches from him and she clung to his embrace in desperation and loneliness.
He drew her closer, swearing to himself that no one would get to hurt her like this again. That he would not let them.
As she trembled in his arms, he raised his other hand and let his power flow towards the remaining set of guards that still chased her. All of them collapsed before their feet, and Valtor only smiled at the look of it.
Then Bloom pulled away and looked up at him. And he would have given anything to mend the pain evident in her eyes. "Thank you," she whispered and her legs gave way. Valtor picked her up, still holding her as close as possible and thought of only one place and one fairy who could potentially help her now.
Valtor was back at the clearing and it seemed that Bloom's escape was still undetected. He followed the path of blood and remains of her magical trail to an underground cave entrance. He thought that the bodies in the woods were mere casualties of Bloom's attacks, but when the gates opened he knew it to be a false assumption.
It was a blood bath and the closest thing to a slaughterhouse he came across.
He walked inside, stepping over burnt corpses and detached limbs, and examining the area. The hallway was long and filled with rooms. He entered each one, sizing up the equipment and technology gathered to keep this place undetectable. At the gates at the end of the hallway, he found what he was first looking for. The torture chamber.
Blood and particles of skin still covered the floor, along with what must have been Bloom's repeated vomit.
And then he saw the heart.
Lying on the floor, nearly burnt entirely was an extracted, and very much human, heart. Valtor's insides turned at the smell. But when his eyes landed on the body in the corner, only pride remained.
At first, she was unrecognizable because her face was so feeble and blood had been splattered all over her, but as he got closer and rolled her onto her back it became certain.
Bloom had killed Faragonda.
And even though a small part of him regretted that he wasn't the one to do it or that he hadn't been there to witness it, he couldn't have been more pleased with the realization that his long-term enemy was finally and truly dead.
He teleported away on the first signs of magic and went to check on Bloom.
Bloom stared at the fairy in disbelief. She remembered Valtor's story about her but didn't think she would ever see her in person. Carefully, she turned her head, searching for any sign of the wizard, as she wanted an explanation.
"You will not find him here," Sibylla said as if reading her thoughts. Against her better judgement to try and fight her way out of this, she knew she was too weak and hence stayed quiet. The fairy had her eyes trained on Bloom.
"Interesting," she would whisper from time to time as if assessing something within her mind. "Where am I?" Bloom asked after minutes of awkward silence. She couldn't move any part of her body and everything hurt from twitching to breathing. She wished she could at least sit up.
"Safe," Sibylla replied as she stood up and walked over to Bloom. Her eyes flew over her entire body and she nodded to herself. "My fairies have done an excellent job with you." Bloom had no idea what that meant either. "Please," she said desperately. "Can you tell me what's going on?"
The Major Fairy of Justice smiled slightly. "There will be plenty of time for talking once you recover. You are still too weak and you will lose consciousness in approximately thirty seconds." She ran a finger through Bloom's hair before walking out of her field of vision. Bloom wanted to protest, but deep down she knew the mysterious fairy was right. She too, felt herself slipping back into the darkness.
Sibylla closed the doors of the healing quarters and went into what the fairies called their formal room. Valtor shot her a look as soon as she entered. "Where is she?" he said with urgency and with an ounce of threat. "Resting," she replied simply.
She sat on the large sofa, opposite Valtor's armchair and studied the wizard. "I told you I will bring her once she is up for it. As of right now, she is so exhausted that she cannot stay awake for more than a few minutes." His brows creased as he returned her gaze. "Take me to her," he all but demanded, his fist growing white around the chair he was squeezing. Sibylla only blinked and roots wrapped themselves around him, strapping him to the seat. "Careful now. My hospitality only goes so far," she said and held his gaze.
"You wouldn't deny her aid now," he challenged but stopped trying to free himself. "Perhaps not. Perhaps I would deny you of her." She noticed the dark veil appear in his pupils as the words left her mouth. He looked ready to kill her if it weren't for the barrier stopping his powers. But then he inhaled deeply and the anger seemed to wither away slowly.
"She has been through something undescribable Valtor. Give her time."
He didn't seem to be listening to her, but still, he nodded and she removed his restraints. Valtor rolled his joints, pretending not to be bothered that for once something hadn't gone his way. A bottle of whiskey appeared at the table before them along with two glasses. "Would you join me for a drink?" she said with a raised brow and poured the liquid first to him and then to herself. "You, are offering me a drink?"
She nearly rolled her eyes at his suspicion as she brought the glass to her lips and swallowed a gulp. "Not poisoned I assure you. I have no reason to want you dead." Valtor downed the whole glass right away and she noticed some of his muscles relax. "Aren't you the fairy of justice? How is my mere existence, not a disruption to you?"
"I told you, I am not particularly bothered by mortals' predicaments. You are no threat to me or the Others." He knew she meant the other Major Fairies and she was right. He had no interest in Earth and its secrets. Not yet anyway.
She clinked her glass against his. "To friendship," she said and pulled her lips into a dashing smile. Valtor nodded as he took a swing. "Why did you decide to help me?" he asked at last. Sibylla seemed to be considering how to phrase her thoughts. "I know a lot of things Valtor. A great many things that are yet to occur. Let's just say that my role in them was to decide whether you're worth helping."
He was watching her with curiosity now. "And you decided that I was?"
"No," Sibylla answered without hesitation and he cocked his head to the side. "But she is." He scuffed, of course, it was always about Bloom.
A scream pierced the silence and Valtor seemed to sober up as soon as he heard it. She was in danger, his thoughts echoed.
Sibylla stood up immediately, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. One of her fairies ran into the room.
"Mistress, we need your assistance," she said, frantically looking between Valtor and Sibylla. The Major Fairy asked: "What's the matter?"
"We were working on the wings, just like you showed us. But then-", her voice became high. "-then the tear started to spread. If you don't come quickly it may fall apart completely."
Sibylla rushed through the doors at once, not caring if Valtor followed or not. She hurried to the table where Bloom was lying, sweat leaking down her forehead as she cried and shivered on the table. Two fairies were using a spell to keep the wings straight which was probably the only thing still holding them intact. "Bloom listen to me," she said clearly, yet caringly and the fire fairy did her best to listen.
"I know it sounds scary right now, but I need you to summon your dragon," Sibylla demanded and Bloom went nearly deathly pale. "Do you want to kill her?" Valtor raised his voice, appearing in the room. Bloom's eyes shot to him right away and they stared at each other in silence.
"Bloom, if you want your wings to be okay, you need to do as I say. Right now. Because we don't have much time," Sibylla ignored him and repeated. Bloom shivered and tried to raise a hand, but no spark of magic appeared. She closed her eyes and concentrated, but nothing was happening.
But then her eyes remained closed and she was out of consciousness again. "We can't do it without her magic," the Major Fairy was saying, panic seeping into her voice. "We need her magic-"
"Take mine," Valtor said instantly, and a blue dragon appeared at his side. "I don't think it's a good idea-" one of the small fairies objected, but Sibylla nodded and without hesitation started the spell.
She moved through the air and then touched her hand to the blue dragon who bowed its head. Her fingers traced invisible strings and designs before Bloom's broken wing. Valtor remained speechless as he watched her.
It was like her fingers were dancing with his fire. Swirls appeared in the air, and she wove them gently into the tear of the wing. The blue fire responded to her carelessly, abiding her. A pattern like dragon scales traced itself onto Bloom and by the time Sibylla stepped away, the wing looked as if it was healed.
"Will she be able to fly again?" he asked, still amazed by her work. He had never seen this type of healing magic before. It was incredible. "Yes. But this process will have to be repeated over the course of her stay if we want to completely mend the slash."
Bloom was still asleep when they left the room. "How did you do it?" he asked out of pure curiosity. He didn't think it possible.
"Fairy wings are bound by the essence of the fairy's power. The only way to heal them is by using that same essence and weaving it back into the wings." She said and stopped, locking her gaze with his. He was pretty sure she was studying something about him again.
"What you did back there- You care about her,"
Valtor nodded.