Sibylla watched the fire fairy's chest rise and fall, the only sign that she was indeed, still alive. She wondered just how badly Valtor would react if, after all of her work, the fairy simply withered away in her sleep. She would hate to have to clean the wizard's remains from her floors. It was funny to her, how confident he was in his superiority over everyone. A male fool. And not the first one she would prove wrong if needed.
"Mistress, Miss Noel arrived a couple of minutes ago," one of her fairies said from the door. Sibylla got to her feet, forgetting Valtor in a second. "I will be there in a minute."
She walked over to Bloom's sleeping form and laid a healing incantation over some of the deeper wounds. She couldn't believe just how many scars one body could withhold. Genuine sadness crawled around her heart whenever she did a new cycle of spells. She was a fairy of justice, and by her standards, torture, violence and brutality were never justice. Vengence, yes. But not the referee.
As she exited the room, her eyes fell upon her guest's face. Rosey cheeks and eyes filled with warmth greeted her. Today Noel's hair was braided back and over her shoulder. "You're back early," Sibylla said with a smile as she pulled her in and kissed her gently. "Maybe," Noel answered. "-but you are not opposed to that."
Sibylla could never get used to her wife's beauty, no matter how many times she saw her. She was like spring, gentle and ethereal and she would gladly drown in it repeatedly. "You're staring," Noel said jokingly and bumped her shoulder. She linked their elbows as they walked to the end of the hall to their shared bed-chamber. Noel plopped on the bed instantly, her wings spread behind her. She removed her armour's shoulder plates and placed them on the nightstand.
"I am surprised Morgana keeps letting you leave early," Sibylla spoke after sitting next to Noel and pulling her head onto her shoulder. She pushed some loose strands of hair behind her ear and kissed the top of her head. Noel shrugged. "We are all curious about your guest after all." Sibylla gave her a look that told her there had been no new updates. Bloom has been sleeping for four days. They had to hydrate and feed her through spells so that she wouldn't starve.
"Still, Morgana expects to be the first to know if there is something. Hence," Noel moved her hand, pointing to herself. "I will have to thank her personally," Sibylla said through a laugh and squeezed her arms around Noel's waist. Her wife rolled her eyes at the comment and embraced Sibylla back. They were able to spend so many moments like this, ever since word about Bloom's presence spread. But, Sibylla couldn't complain about the messenger being the one person she could never get tired of.
A knock sounded on the door and Mila's strawberry-blond head peeked inside. The fairy bowed slightly to them both. "Mistress, I want to inform you that the patient is showing signs of consciousness. She has been asking for you."
Sibylla nodded and watched Mila retreat. She kissed Noel again before getting up. "You better be here when I get back," Sybilla said after opening the doors of their room. "Morgana will just have to wait," Noel responded and winked at her playfully.
She was in the healing corners just as Bloom was getting into a sitting position and seemingly arguing with one of the fairies. "I'm telling you, I have to see Sibylla-"
The fairy of justice gave a little cough and Bloom's eyes snapped to her immediately. "I believe you are looking for me."
The fairy aiding her bowed and left the room to give them privacy. Sybilla walked over and sat on the chair opposite Bloom's bed. "I want answers. My memory is a bit- unreliable," the fire fairy insisted. Sibylla nodded and summoned a glass of water, offering it to Bloom who drank it in a few sips.
"I am here to help you heal. That is all that you need to know," she said and watched as Bloom's brows knit together in irritation.
"How did I get here?"
Sibylla raised an eyebrow: "How do you think?" Slight colour appeared on the tips of Bloom's cheeks. "We have already made some progress, but we need your cooperation if you want to get- well, not perfect, but stable." Bloom was still watching her with evident suspicion, so Sibylla tried again.
"I swear to you that you are safe here. And that I am doing everything I can to ensure your recovery. Can you believe me when I say that?" She waited for a couple of seconds before the fire fairy gave a simple nod. "And in order to do that, you need to work with me because it will not be easy." Bloom didn't blink a single time while she spoke and Sibylla wondered what was going through her head.
"Where is this place?" the redhead asked after a few moments of silence. A smile crossed Sibylla's face. "Earth."
Colour drained from Bloom's face as the number of questions she had continued to grow. But she knew that asking them would probably provide no sense of comfort now. And something told her that Sibylla wouldn't respond to them anyway.
"There will be plenty of time for answers. I know how many questions you have."
The fairy of justice stood up and extended both of her hands towards Bloom. The younger fairy took that as an invitation to take them. "Let's see what we are working with." As Bloom got to her feet, her legs started to buckle instantly. She stood for approximately 10 seconds before falling back on the bed.
"I will have to ask Noel to get you crutches until we can get you walking again."
"Who is Noel?" Bloom asked. Because at this point she needed anything that could occupy her brain. She couldn't start thinking about the fact that she could no longer walk properly, let alone start to think about the situation of her wings. They felt different than the last time she was awake, but she didn't dare to test them out yet.
The widest smile appeared on Sibylla's face as she replied: "My wife. You will get to meet her soon."
For some reason that spun her thoughts into a completely new direction. Or more precisely, towards someone else. She noticed the lack of his presence right away but pushed the thought back until it just resurfaced again. By the change in her expression and the way her eyes did a quick scan of the room, Sibylla sighed. "He's not here right now."
"Will he umm-" she started but hesitated. She was still very much unsure of where she stood when it came to Valtor. Just because she went through hell did not mean she suddenly forgot everything that played out before it. He was still a grey area that Bloom didn't feel like exploring yet.
"Nevermind," she said and her cheeks blushed from embarrassment.
"For now, you should spend some time regaining your composure, then we will move on to physical exercises and get you back on your feet," Sibylla said and walked to the door. "I will come to check on you in a few hours, but if you should need anything just tell the fairies."
"Where will you be?"
"Everything in its time," she said and closed the door.
Bloom was greeted by complete and utter silence. It was so strange to feel it. No screaming voices in her head or curses from the council members. She hadn't known how glad she would be to hear nothing.
Bloom sucked in a breath as she pulled her feet back to the floor.
Still holding onto the bed, she attempted to stabilize herself. Pain shot through her nerves and she was forced to sit back down. She was about to touch her wings when an unfamiliar face peeked behind the door. It was a woman of a rich brown complexion with a thick braid over her shoulder. Bloom could only describe her presence as magical. Everything from the way she looked to the way she moved was effortless, leaving a person mesmerized. "You must be Bloom," she said in a velvety voice as she got closer. On her back was a pair of large indigo wings and it took Bloom a second to notice that the left one wasn't the same as the right. It had been damaged and then mended.
Bloom averted her gaze, not wanting to be caught staring. She extended her hand towards the stranger. "I'm Noel," the woman said and beamed. Bloom couldn't help but notice just how bony and scarred her own hand was in comparison to Noel's. "Sorry for just barging in here, but I was really excited to finally meet you."
"It's fine. Sibylla only just left." At the mention of her wife's name, a spark ignited in Noel's eyes. Even without seeing them together, one could tell just how much love was in between the two. It made Bloom offer a smile of her own. "I brought you some things, in case you get bored. Sibylla can be too serious sometimes. Here," she said and offered Bloom a stack of four books. She skimmed the titles and they were mostly healing journals and one history book. "Thank you," she said as she placed them on the small desk by the bed.
"Sadly, I can't stay long. Promised Sibylla to take her out tonight," Noel said and blushed. She rubbed her palms together and added: "Sweaty palms, wish me luck." Bloom held up her thumbs up and waved. From the few minutes that they spent together, she could already tell that Noel would be her favourite in this place.
Bloom exhaled then inhaled before daring to look at the object one of the fairies had dropped off. She was afraid of what she would see. What if her wing was completely irreparable, or worse- broken. She wasn't sure if she was ready to come to terms with that. It was quite enough that she was hunted by nightmares every night, followed by an intense self-check that she was indeed safe, away from the council and most importantly that she was free. Bloom bit the inside of her lip and averted her eyes to the mirror.
She released a sigh of relief upon noticing that she still had both of her wings. But there was something odd about them. Their usual pale blue colour had a pattern of sorts. They were usually plain, but now she analyzed the traces of what looked a lot like dragon scales, woven into her wings in a shade of azure blue. She had spent more than enough time with Valtor to recognize the colour of his magic. But how it got onto her wings was an entirely new puzzle for her to piece together. She wished that her head and thoughts were a little bit clearer, as many answers might be as plain as day. But she didn't dare to try and reach into her mental shields. She shivered at the possibility of hearing all those voices again. Her hand instantly touched the place on her legs where she used to draw stars. But of course, those have been cleaned a while ago.
She wished she had something of Stella's or Daphne's so that her heart could feel some sort of peace and familiarity. As nice as these people around her were, they were still strangers. And Bloom knew all too well just how dangerous getting close to strangers can get. Even friends weren't reliable people to trust anymore. Her mind went to Valtor. The most uncharted territory of them all.
What else could she do but think? Because trying to deter herself from the topic was not going to happen. Clearly.
He had brought her here knowing that Sibylla would be able to help, but why he would go through such trouble to do it, she really didn't know. Because the answer that was dawning on her couldn't be the case. He hated her. Or at least, he should be hating her. Even if a lot of things that went down between them showed her the complete opposite.
But, the alternative would be that he cared for her, and that line of thought Bloom refused to cross. Valtor didn't have an ounce of empathy or morality in his body, he wasn't capable of caring for anyone besides himself. He had proved to her that on more than one occasion. So whatever this thing between them was, it was not affection and it was not devotion. Those words were reserved for the few people in her life that she could trust. As small as that list currently was, Valtor could not be added to it. Could never be on it. It was that simple. She knew him, maybe not thoroughly, but enough. And he was not worth the nerves she was pulling by deciphering him.
The reason she ran to him in the clearing was simple. He was familiar, he wasn't the hell behind her, but the lesser of two evils in a difficult situation. Her embracing him was only due to the lack of human connection that was not torturous. That is all that it was. And it made perfect sense, even if somewhere within her some of her thoughts objected. She pushed them down and put everything into perspective again. His presence there was the alternative to being recaptured, of course, she would cling to it. Of course, it brought peace to her wilted mind. It was logical. It made sense.
"You appear to be very lost in thought," she heard Sibylla's voice and snapped back into reality. Valtor wasn't there and she would have to deal with him once he was. Bloom turned her attention to Sibylla and shook her head. "Yeah, sorry, there is just a lot I have to figure out."
"Valtor is an enigmatic being I will give you that."
Bloom's mouth fell slightly agape, eyes widening. "That's not-"
"You don't have to explain yourself to me," she said with a sigh. "Listening to both of you talk about each other is not on my set of duties and I want no part of it."
Bloom wondered what exactly she meant by both of them or well just what had he told her. Probably how he is glad to have her off of his back so he could focus on conquering the dimension. Even while thinking it she knew it to be false, but she would cope with the fake scenarios her mind created rather than dwell deeper into it. Especially because Sibylla wasn't known for answering her questions.
"Onto the actual reason why I'm here," she said and presented Bloom with a pair of crutches. The fire fairy eyed them wearily, unsure of how to properly use them. Siyblla held them straight as Bloom settled her palms onto the hand grips. She put her weight onto her extended arms and hissed at the pain that ignited in both of her legs. "It's okay, it's normal. Just breathe."
Bloom sucked in a breath and let it flow through to her lungs. She knew that the road to her recovery would not be an easy one and that this was only the first step. It still didn't make it any less difficult.
Sibylla moved a couple of feet away, removing any possible obstacles. "Now, very carefully try and make your way to me. One foot after the other, do not rush it," she said and watched her like a commander watches his army. Bloom took her first step, placing the left crutch in front of the other and then bringing the right leg toward it. She felt the sting in her muscles but kept going. It was easier to do it in her head than to actually take the steps. But in a couple of minutes, she made her way to where Sibylla stood. The Fairy of Justice nodded at her, and Bloom cursed herself for thinking she would praise her for a job well done. It was barely a 10-meter distance.
"That's the beginning. As long as we work consistently, you should be able to improve. It will take a couple of weeks for the damages to subside. And once you can walk on your own we will move onto flying." Bloom nodded, comprehending how much work there was in front of her, but knowing all the while that she would do all of it and more to regain herself. They took enough from her, but she was going to get all of the pieces back.
"Thank you for doing this," she said, realizing that she never expressed her gratitude to Sibylla who was healing her just because she was asked. Or whatever other tactic Valtor might have used to win her favours. The Major fairy gave a small smile, unlike the ones Bloom had seen before. It seemed like she wanted to say more, but decided not to.
"It hasn't been easy for you these years, has it?"
Bloom blinked away her surprise. "What do you know about that?" she held her breath, curious and sort of worried about what this powerful fairy knew about her situation. "A lot of things."
Bloom waited for her to provide some explanation, but Sibylla remained quiet, watching her. Probably studying and making notes of everything she will report to Valtor.
"Do you keep an eye on all of Valtor's-" she stumbled on her words, unsure of which wording to use. "-acquaintances?"
Sibylla shook her head and laughed mysteriously. "No. Let's just say I pay close attention to people I deem valuable. And you Bloom, as an heiress to an empty throne are near the top of that list."
"I won't be for long," Bloom retorted back and saw a shadow of confusion on the other fairy's face, so she went on. "Once I free my parents, they will regain their places as Domino's rulers."
Sibylla fought the urge to laugh. "You think that you can find the two people that the entire magical dimension hadn't managed to locate in over a decade?" She began to wonder if her picture of Bloom had been entirely wrong. If she was yet another foolish fairy thinking how she could change everything.
Bloom didn't know why it mattered to her, but she wanted to prove Sibylla wrong. The words were out of her mouth before thinking much about them: "They are in Obsidian."
Sibylla's eyes widened for a single second, but soon her usual calm expression was back and she seemed unfazed yet again. "Clever girl."
She didn't give her a chance to dwell on what that meant because, in the next moment, the Fairy of Justice had teleported away, leaving Bloom alone in the chamber once again.
Carefully, she took a few steps back to her bed and lowered the crutches onto the floor. Was there a single person in this world who wasn't going to keep secrets from her and just tell her the information she was bound to find out anyway? The memory of Faragonda flashed in her mind, of her eyes as the life left them forever. Things could have ended so much differently if she had only told Bloom the truth.
But now she was the second soul on Bloom's list of stolen lives. How many more would she take on her path? And how long until the last scraps of her humanity got shredded along with it?
"Obsidian!" Sibylla practically yelled at him and he had to fight the urge to smite her for it.
Valtor had been minding his own business, thinking of what kind of debt would he make the Solarian Princess pay, when Sibylla materialized in front of his desk, looking angrier than he had ever seen her.
"You mean to tell me that that's where they have been?! 18 years Valtor, the dimension had spent 18 years searching for them!" she was going on and on, blabbering about nonsense that Valtor really didn't care about. When she was finished, she stared at him with her arms crossed, waiting for a reply. He was surprised she didn't bring Noel along, on a few brief occasions when their paths crossed, she always seemed to be the more intimidating of the two. He rolled his eyes at her and simply sighed.
"Is there something to this rant, or did you just come to bore me again? Because if I need to remind you, you are the one who prohibited me from visiting you." He tossed his legs onto the table and studied her carefully. He wasn't sure why she was so frustrated by any of it, given how their location changed nothing. They were still trapped and would remain so.
"I don't see the value of that information for you."
"No," Sibylla said with disappointment. "No, I suppose you don't." There was so much she wanted to say, so many words she wanted to scream at him, but instead, she kept a calm expression and shook her head. "I am sorry for disturbing you like this. It was just a shocking set of news is all."
Valtor was watching her with suspicion but said nothing as he nodded.
"I will leave, but in the meantime, I think you would want to know, Bloom woke up."
She could spot a glint of relief in his eyes, but he remained silent which she took as good of a goodbye as any.
He watched the area where she disappeared, pondering upon the situation, but ultimately going back to a single thought: Bloom was going to be okay.
Sibylla held her composure as she entered the lavish, vast room. It had been a while since she last stepped foot into its space and even now she wondered if it was for good reason. She kept reassuring herself that this wasn't meddling, it was simply providing information from one source to another. She wasn't taking sides. Somewhere Noel was rolling her eyes at her. She wasn't a fan of the idea when Sibylla had proposed it, but she also would never be a person to stand in her wife's way.
Clicking of heels against the tiled floor echoed through the room and Sibylla went still. There was no going back now.
"It's been too long," the fairy said, stopping before Sibyilla and smiling at her. The smile did not reach her eyes, but the Fairy of Justice mimicked it right back respectfully.
Sibylla slightly bowed her head as she beheld her longest friend.
Morgana, the High Queen of the Earth Fairies.