Amber looked around attentively.
The Golden Kingdom - situated in the clouds - was aptly named. The pillars, the frames of the portraits, even the floors were made of pure gold.
A strange trumpet sound echoed.
It came from a small green creature with a pointed face. A goblin! The creature smiled at her kindly and tucked the small trumpet under its arm: "Welcome to the Golden Kingdom. If you would please follow me..."
They were led through a sort of museum of magic. Display cases with the first spells and enchantments ever spoken, portraits of the first fairies and witches, and even the dust of the first shooting spotted a partially covered portrait further back.
A pale figure could be seen partially. Curious, Amber wanted to step closer, but her small guide blocked her way: "Sorry, but the High Council is already waiting."
"Sorry..."
The little green man immediately continued walking.
Eventually, they stopped in front of a fountain. A golden structure rose from it, and a mermaid with green hair emerged, scrutinizing the Winx: "Welcome back, Winx."
Suddenly, something flew over their heads - something that Amber initially mistook for an old, torn bedsheet. However, the bedsheet had a face and seemed to be a member of the Elder Council as well.
Next, a fairy appeared - her body seemed to be entirely composed of blue pulsating, arcane energy. Her golden eyes scrutinized Bloom and Amber."I am Arcadia, the Fairy of the Golden Kingdom. I am pleased to see you again and meet your friends, Winx."
Bloom stepped forward and bowed respectfully to Arcadia. Then she straightened up and said: "Your Majesty... We are here because we need your help. Our friends were attacked by a creature that... tried to steal their souls.
"A worried crease appeared on the elder fairy's face. "...and you believe that your attacker might be a Fairy of Death. Yes, your headmistress has already informed me..."
The hall fell silent.
Arcadia took a deep breath: "I once banished the Death Fairies from this world. They should not be able to return... If they have, then something significant must have happened in other universes."
"Wait... I'm not quite following... What do you mean by other universes?" asked Tecna.
"Timelines - beyond the ones we know. Parallel universes. Multiverses," said the strange flying bedsheet.
"You must understand that the Death Fairies serve the primordial goddess of death," noted the elder mermaid.
"Death is omnipresent in every universe. But its followers are too powerful and cruel to exist here. They disturbed the balance between life and death. So, I once asked the goddess of life to assist me, and we managed to banish them from this world. If you truly saw a Fairy of Death, then they must have gained power in another universe. Power enough to break through my protective barrier," explained Arcadia calmly.
"And what about the other universes? What if they are suffering under the Fairies of Death?" asked Flora.
Arcadia thought for a moment."... Is it your wish to help the parallel universes?"
"Well...", began Flora.
"Of course!" said Bloom decisively. Her thoughts circled around Domino, her once-destroyed homeland. If those parallel universes looked similar...!
"Bloom, you don't know what it's like in a parallel universe. According to my data, anything could be lurking there. We might even encounter doppelgängers of ourselves, or..." began Tecna.
Arcadia stepped in: "If that is your wish, I will make the arrangements. But you are here for another reason as well, right, Winx?"
Reality caught up with the fairies.
"Your Majesty... Our friends... they..." said Bloom, but her voice failed at the thought of Stella, Musa, and Layla.
Arcadia placed a hand on Bloom's shoulder. Now she could see what Bloom had seen.
"I understand. Don't worry... The souls of your friends were not stolen. They were merely shattered by the attack."
Arcadia now let thousands of crystals appear in the room. Tecna examined them closely and saw a projection in the glittering surface - a memory of her arguing with Stella about her outfit at the beach."Are these...?"
"Memories of your friends. If you manage to place them correctly, your friends should wake up," said Arcadia.
Three mirrors appeared, each with the image of Musa, Layla, and Stella.
The other Winx exchanged glances.
"Alright then... Let's get to work!" said Bloom, heading towards Stella's mirror with the memory of their first meeting in her hand. The crystal fit seamlessly into the image, which now shone even brighter.
"...but... Say, where is Amber?"
The room was gigantic, and Amber couldn't even see the ceiling. It was as if the crystalline hall ended in the clouds. She didn't know how she had ended up in this hall, nor where the Winx were. Unease settled within her.
"You are the fairy of truth, aren't you?" someone asked.
Amber turned around and saw a beautiful woman.
She was an Enchantix fairy.
Her white-gold hair was tied into two curly braids that reached the floor and ended in a soft blue tone. A single curly strand of hair fell over her sun-kissed large amethyst eyes were covered with light blue eyeshadow and regarded her with a stern look. She wore a long sparkling gown in dark blue and light orange, which reminded Amber a bit of the sunset, and her large wings looked like two intertwined petals. They were two-colored, one dark blue and the other light orange.
"I... -Y-yes!" stammered Amber. After a pause, she added: "My name is Amber."
The strange fairy looked at her disdainfully: "I am Portia. The guardian of the dimensional portals."
Portia turned around and wrote something in the air with her fairy dust.
A portal to another room opened in front of her."Lady Arcadia has tasked me with testing you. Go through," she said coolly.
Amber did as she was told.
Her head still felt foggy.
Only when she stood alone in the empty room did she force herself to banish the beautiful guardian from her thoughts.
She looked around. Apparently, she had landed in a forest, only this forest was entirely made of crystals. Dozens of jewels formed leaves, flowers, and branches, and to the left, above the ground, stretched a crystal-clear lake.
A mirror appeared beside her. She looked into it and saw her own, frightened face.
Then a voice spoke from the mirror: "Find the shadow rose. Only then will you find the exit."
"Uh... Okay...?" said Amber, although she was quite sure the mirror couldn't hear her.
"...where should I start?..." she thought, as the mirror spoke again. It now spoke with her mother's authoritative voice: "Didn't you pay attention in herbology?! You'll never amount to anything!"
Amber flinched, and tears welled up in her eyes.
Not because of the mirror.
But because she had heard what the mirror said so often before.
Amber had never been enough for her mother. No matter how good she was at something - she never received praise or recognition for it. But if she couldn't do something, she was always scolded.
"You are a disgrace to the family!" the mirror continued to shout, "An Enchantix like her? You can't even manage your Charmix! Worthless thing!"
Amber now covered her ears. It hurt. It hurt so much...
"I WISH I HAD NEVER GIVEN BIRTH TO YOU!" the mirror screamed at her.
"BE QUIET!" Amber screamed back.
The mirror fell silent immediately.
But as she tried to move, it whispered to her: "You will never be enough."
Amber fell to her knees. Her entire life flashed before her eyes. Her proud mother, who always scorned her, her sister, who always succeeded in everything, her father, who hadn't visited her since she was five...
"Don't give up."
Amber looked up. That gentle voice seemed to come from nowhere. But there was no one there.
Amber forced herself to stand up. The voice was right. If she continued to let herself be hurt, she wouldn't get anywhere.
"You will never amount to anything," the mirror mocked beside her.
Amber took a deep breath: "Maybe I've made mistakes. I'll probably always make mistakes. But I am more than my mistakes."
"You?" the mirror chuckled. On its surface, she saw visions from her school days. Her classmates who bullied and ridiculed her.
"I have more important things to do," said Amber and continued her search.
The mirror floated behind her.
Just as she was examining a spot with glittering moss, the mirror spoke again: "You miserable wretch will never be strong enough."
Now Amber stood up and turned to the mirror, which was still displaying every detail of her life - the day she was eleven and had to give a presentation in front of the entire school and wet herself out of nervousness - the day she sat in nettles at summer camp - her mother always criticizing her - her sister with her perfect boyfriend and perfect life - every single exam she failed - her clumsy attempts to make friends - up to a vision of Portia wrinkling her nose at her attempt to befriend her -
"ENOUGH!" Amber shouted at the mirror, which cracked.
"Maybe I'm not perfect! Damn it, nobody is perfect! Not even my sister! Yes, I have fears, and I make a lot of mistakes! But my fears and mistakes don't define me! I am valuable! I am stronger than you think, and I will damn well become an Enchantix fairy!"
With each word, the mirror cracked more, and now it shattered into a thousand pieces.
Amber breathed a sigh of relief.
She had done it!
And somehow, she felt incredibly relieved.
She had accepted herself.
A bright, warm light suddenly enveloped her, a light that came from within her...
Her Charmix took the form of a scale. Balance. Yes, that suited her.
Now another portal opened before her, and a smiling Portia stepped out and hugged her: "You actually did it! Well done."
"But - I didn't even find the flower!" Amber stammered in surprise.
Portia smiled and looked even more beautiful in Amber's eyes. She pointed to the mirror: "Look there."
From the shards emerged a single dark rose.