Chapter 4

Icy was satisfied. It had always been easy to enter Alfea unnoticed. Nothing had changed in all these years. The corridors of the castle were quiet and deserted. The Sandman had done a good job. Every little fairy seemed to be sleeping soundly. It was just after three in the morning.

A satisfied grin spread across Icy's face as she manifested her vacuum crystal in her hand. It spread a cool, blue light in the deserted, dark corridor.

The magical shield that was supposed to protect the school from enemy attacks was apparently only used in the event of direct attacks. These fairies were really too trusting. Or just stupid.

The crystal pulsed slightly. She hadn't used this magical artifact for a long time. It was there to locate and absorb magical energy. Most recently, the Trix had used their crystals to track down the dragon flame and absorb it. The thought dampened Icy's good mood. Cursed Bloom. Icy should have just killed her back then. But it had seemed too tempting for the little redhead to experience the destruction of the Magic Dimension first hand to blame herself for it forever. And then everything had turned out differently. To make matters worse, Valtor had recently shown a strange interest in the cursed dragon fire fairy. It was always Bloom. She had been so important to Darkar. But Valtor was not like Darkar. That's why Valtor's obsession almost drove her crazy. What did he want with Bloom when he had her?

I swear, I'll kill her at the next opportunity, Icy thought tensely. And then I'll rip off her silly, glittering wings -

A click.

Icy immediately disappeared behind the next pillar and made her treacherously glowing vacuum crystal disappear.

Someone crept through the entrance hall into the courtyard. It was too dark to see anything more and Icy couldn't tell whether she knew the fairy or not.

Quietly as a cat, she crept to the large double doors and peeked through. But all she saw was a bit of glittering dust in the air and a flying fairy in the distance, getting further and further away from Alfea.

Icy raised an eyebrow and quietly closed the door. So there were naughty fairies flying around in the middle of the night.

Enjoy your little adventure, soon you won't have anything to laugh about anymore.

Icy called her vacuum crystal again and floated in the direction in which the signal from the water stars was getting stronger and stronger.

Flora was already there when Riven arrived at the agreed meeting point. He had seen the rose-colored glow shining through the trees from far away.

He slowed his wind glider and came to a stop in front of her.

"Thank you for coming," he said, taking off his helmet.

The bells on Flora's wings tinkled softly as she turned to him. "I have no idea what I'm doing here. So, let's go before I change my mind." It didn't sound accusatory, more amused.

"I don't even know what I'm doing here right now."

"Oh, but you should. I'm not following you because you're unsure, but because you think it makes sense, right? Because you think you can reach Darcy."

Riven looked up into the night sky. "You're right. Now that I've started this mission, I should believe in it too, right? Then let's go. I can use the mental bond to locate where Darcy is."

They started walking. That is, Riven walked and Flora floated a little above the ground next to him. The glow that emanated from her enveloped them and lit their way. On the other hand…

"Flora…."

"Riven?"

"I think it would be better if you didn't fly around here as an Enchantix fairy. The glow can be seen miles ahead and we would probably be discovered before we even got there."

"Oh, sure." The light around Flora disappeared and she was now standing next to Riven, untransformed, in her everyday clothes. "But we can't see anything now. This forest is so dark. No wonder Darcy is here… I mean," Flora corrected herself quickly, as if she had seen his changed expression in the darkness, "I mean, it fits with her powers, of course."

"Darcy isn't just like that," Riven said slowly.

Flora waited. When Riven didn't continue, she asked, "Not just...dark?"

"Yes, at least I got to know her very differently. She's scary, no question about it. Her mental magic is frightening and she can be terrible. Then it is as if the darkness has swallowed up everything good about her." Riven paused, searching for the right words. "But actually she's just someone who needs to be held. She needs Stability."

"And then she and her sisters threw the whole magical dimension into chaos," Flora snorted.

"She wanted to build her own stability. At least that's what she said."

They walked through the dark forest in silence for a while.

"You don't know where she comes from, do you, Flora?"

"No, she never told me. She was apparently too busy trying to kill me. Sorry, that was just a joke. But...it was always like that."

"Sure. You know, I just got to know her differently. You probably won't believe me, but she gave me so much when we were together. She was there when Sky was shit, she caught me and built me up. She didn't criticize me, but recognized my strengths and then..." he paused. "...encouraged them."

"Used them," Flora corrected.

Riven was silent and Flora searched for words, embarrassed: "I'm sorry, Riven. I'm probably just excited. I have no idea what awaits us. But if you say there's something good in her, then I believe you."

Riven could barely see Flora's face in the darkness, but he could hear her smiling. Suddenly he felt guilty about putting Flora in such danger. Because she was right. Darcy was dangerous and she and her sisters had been trying to take out the Winx for years. And for good.

He was just about to tell her that it would be better if she turned around and let him go on alone when the mental signal suddenly became clearer.

"Shhht, Flora. I think we're there."

Apparently, they were still in the forest and standing before an extremely large tree.

"I know that sounds strange," said Riven, "but I think their hiding place is in this tree."

"That doesn't sound strange," replied Flora. "It's not a tree. It's an illusion that looks like a tree."

She reached out and touched the bark. "I've seen something like that before. Two years ago... the Trix set a trap for us because they were after Stella's ring. They created the illusion of a place that didn't exist. The big oak that stood there felt just as empty and cold as that spruce."

"Then we know for sure that we're in the right place. The only question is how we get in."

Flora closed her eyes and tried to see an unevenness in the structure of the tree, something like a door. She opened her eyes: "Up there. I can feel an irregularity there. I'm sure that's where the entrance is."

Riven rubbed his hands. "Well, then we'll have to climb. I'm sorry, Flora."

"As a child, I climbed the highest trees in Lynphea. But admittedly, that was a while ago and I wasn't wearing a miniskirt," said Flora. "I'm going to transform and fly up. Don't worry, no one will see anything, because I'll be in my mini-Winx form."

She transformed and floated like a little light next to his head.

"Admittedly, that's cool," Riven started to climb the tree.

"It's not just witches who have fascinating magic," Flora rang next to him.

He would have liked to answer that luckily witches don't glitter that much, but he held back. If they made any noise now, it might all have been for nothing.

But they managed to get into the hiding place unnoticed.

"Strange, don't they have any guard spells?" Riven whispered uncertainly. "That's not like Darcy at all."

"She probably has very little say and Valtor is so confident in himself that he doesn't take any safety precautions," Flora whispered close to his ear.

Riven still pulled out his phantom blade to be on the safe side. They were in a kind of cave complex that was shrouded in dim light.

"I just hope we don't end up in Valtor's bedroom right away." Flora looked around.

"Don't worry, I can feel exactly where we need to go." He could now feel Darcy's proximity very clearly. He was just about to go in the direction the mental bond was pointing him in when he heard a noise behind him.

It sounded like a person who had tripped and was now cursing.

He knew the voice. Before he could tell Flora to hide, Stormy came around the corner, slightly staggering. She was coming from the direction of the cave entrance and had apparently had a nice evening in Magix.

"Shit," Riven muttered when Stormy caught sight of him and Flora.

Stormy looked a little perplexed and then slurred, "Yo bro, what are ya doin' here? And what's that behind you? Is that Tinkerbell?"

"Oh man, she's drunk again." Riven knew from experience that Stormy liked to overdo it when partying. "Hopefully she doesn't wake Valtor up. Then were badly off." And Darcy too, he thought.

"Don't worry," Flora grew back to her normal size. "We had the same problem with Bloom a while ago and with Stella all the time. I know how to deal with it."

Flora walked up to Stormy and held a finger to her lips. "Quiet Stormy, we don't want to wake anyone up."

Stormy's eyes were fixed on the fairy of nature: "Oh Flora, is that u'? I've always wanted to say that u' really do have the most beautiful wing... wings of all." She hiccupped slightly.

"Oh, thank you very much, let's go quietly to your room and..." Flora thought about what the best thing to do with a drunken witch was.

"I know, I know! I'll show you childhood photos of Eyesi, she's so cute, you wouldn't believe it when you know her today."

"Great idea," Riven slithered past Stormy and Flora and went in the direction he felt Darcy.

"Yes, just go to Dasi, but s…stay clean, kids."

"Shht Stormy, quiet! Quiet fox!" whispered Flora, alarmed.

"Quiet fox!" whispered Stormy and made the hand gesture. Riven shook his head in amusement and turned the next corner, and their voices became quieter and quieter.