Maledictio Verae Tenebrarum
[The Curse of True Darkness]
Chapter 4
After their encounter with the Winx (minus Stella and Bloom) the Trix were busy gossiping about their old nemesis in their hideout while enjoying their stolen lunch.
Valtor was absent as usual, hunting down all kinds of rare and powerful magic to absorb. He told the Trix he was close to normal capacity, but even after filling up his magic core, he would continue to steal magic. While it never hurt to have more magic, his motivations for continuing to amass power were entirely darker in nature. Greed, envy, and an endless thirst to fill some dark and empty corner of his soul.
"I wonder why Stella and Bloom weren't there…" Stormy muttered through a mouthful of spicy noodles.
"Who knows." Icy shrugged.
"Tecna, Musa and Flora are way easier to defeat when they are alone." Stormy commented with a grin and a light laugh. "It was so satisfying watching them struggling to defend their stupid air bubbles from our spells. Who's idea was that!"
Darcy huffed, put down her noodles and glared at Stormy with an outstretched finger. "If Aisha had joined the three of them we might have lost! Fighting underwater was no joke."
"Yeah, but I wont get gloomy over what might have happened. In the end we won!" Stormy poked out her tongue.
"Stop arguing for once. You're going to give me a headache." Icy's chilly voice drifted over the table and her two sisters sat down and finished their meals in silence.
Just as they finished eating, Valtor returned from his most recent mission with a satisfied look on his face. Darcy immediately abandoned her noodles and rushed over to greet him with a sultry smile, "welcome back V!"
Stormy rolled her eyes at the sight and made a gagging motion to Icy, who ignored the couple and her joking sister.
"Girls, I have a mission for you." Valtor seemed pleased with himself.
"Sure, lets hear it." Icy replied for the trio. He handed Icy a map to a realm named Oppositus.
"Ugh I hate that place." Stormy complained, "everything is always upside down and nothing ever makes any sense."
"Well, you can stay here if you want." Icy replied with a tinge of sass in her voice.
"Can I?" Stormy beamed, completely missing her sister's tone.
Icy shrugged and glanced at Valtor, who had a thoughtful look on his face. He wandered over to a box of scrolls and started rummaging around looking for something. In the meantime Darcy took the map from Icy's outstretched hand to look.
"This looks easy enough to infiltrate."
"Everything is easy with your illusion magic." Stormy crossed her arms and huffed.
"I'm just better at stealth, if we need to make a big impact, that's your role sis." Darcy hung her arm around her sister's shoulder with a smirk and Stormy let out a small huff of agreement.
"I have something for you to do if you are planning to stay here Stormy." Valtor walked back to the group and a spark of blue lightning hit Stormy's chest from his outstretched finger. The lightning spread out from her chest until it covered every inch of her skin. After a moment of tense silence, the magic was absorbed into her magic core with a soft sigh.
"Well...that felt weird," Stormy exhaled as she rubbed the spot on her chest where the lightning initially hit her.
Valtor handed her a scroll with a lightning sigil engraved in the wooden handle. She quickly unrolled it and glanced over the words written there, 'Blue Lightning Harpies'.
Darcy let out an amused noise from behind her sister, "summoning magic…"
Icy glanced at her sisters and they both nodded at her in affirmation. "Be careful and follow the instructions exactly-as-written Stormy. Summoning magic is very dangerous if miscast. Don't get lazy or bored and make mistakes like you have in the past. Its very easy to lose control of the summoned creatures and there are countless stories of other summoners falling prey to their own pets."
"I know, I know." She rolled her eyes at her older sister's words.
"She's not joking Stormy." Darcy chimed in behind her.
"I'm taking her seriously!"
"I wouldn't have given her the magic if I didn't think she was capable of using it." Valtor chucked and leaned on the wall with a smile. "Besides it has already evaluated and accepted her as a suitable host. Now all she has to do is master the spells and win the respect of the harpies themselves."
"I'll trust your judgement this time." Icy replied to Valtor while taking a sip of her smoothie. After putting down her smoothie, she turned to her youngest sister and told her, "just be careful Stormy."
"You can trust me not to mess up this time, I promise." Stormy replied with a serious expression for the first time that day. "Now go get out of here, you have things to steal!"
The ice and illusion witches glanced at each other and nodded while finishing off their drinks. After cleaning up the table with magic, they grabbed the map and made their way to the portal. Their destination? Oppositus.
Valtor also turned to leave.
"Thank you for trusting me Valtor! I wont let you down!" Stormy chimed out with a grin when he reached the portal. He turned to nod at her with a smile before stepping through the swirling purple magic.
This time when he stepped out of the portal he arrived in a beautiful and mildly warm kingdom. The guards around this castle were wearing sky blue tabards with a sigil embroidered on the front in fine silver and gold thread. The emblem of the Eraklyon Royal Family was an eagle wearing a crown with the light of the heavens emanating around it.
"Just as pompous as I remember," Valtor whispered under his breath as he watched the guards diligently patrol their assigned areas of the massive castle grounds.
The dark wizard flew undetected to the top of the tallest tower and extended his senses over the castle and surrounding areas. His magically enhanced senses touched each life within and around the castle searching for a suitable person to corrupt into his minion. He'd prefer someone who was already darkly aligned or filled with negative emotions, but anyone with a connection to the palace would ultimately do.
There wasn't anyone inside the castle who fit his requirements, so he extended his senses further out, towards the noble estates within palace grounds. Guest rooms, advisory's rooms, halls and meeting rooms for nobles and royals alike. Luckily there was someone in a guest room not far from his present location. A young woman filled with rage, jealousy, hatred and a touch of self-loathing.
He flew to the window of her rooms and glanced inside. Wavy blonde hair rushed past the window as the young woman paced to and fro inside a room covered in feathers and ruined dresses. She was perfectly full of negativity.
Valtor entered the room by phasing through the window and sat down on the sofa. He waited for the blonde woman to notice him, which didn't take her long.
"Agh!" The young woman immediately screamed as soon as her striking orange eyes locked onto his steely grey ones. "Who are you? How did you get in here!"
Before she could scream for help, Valtor swiftly cast a silence spell on her vocal cords. She grasped at her throat when her words vanished with an exhale and suddenly her eyes were clouded with fear and apprehension.
"My name is Valtor, I am the Greatest Wizard of All Time! I am not your enemy, nor am I here to harm you. I am here to help you. I will release you from my spell if you promise not to call for help." Valtor's words were smooth like honey and the blonde woman visibly relaxed when she realised he had no intention to hurt her. She quickly nodded her head in affirmation and Valtor released her from his magic.
"I am Princess Diaspro, formerly Prince Sky's fiance and a noble fairy of Eraklyon." She introduced herself with a curtsy. "Explain your presence here."
Her attitude was haughty but Valtor did not find her tone displeasing. She was beautiful and her bearing suited her noble status. She would make a lovely minion. "I am here to make a deal with you."
"What kind of deal?" Diaspro sat down at her tea table while elegantly fixing her hair. Despite the mess of the room, her beauty shone like a gemstone in the dark.
"Tell me your deepest desire first."
"What for," she huffed, "it will never come true."
"That's why I am here dear Princess. I intend to make it come true." Valtor smiled in a comely way and even Diaspro couldn't deny he was a handsome man. At this point, she was desperate enough to hear any proposition.
"I want to marry Prince Sky, but he no longer wants me. He loves Bloom." The name of the fire fairy was filled with such venom and malice that would make any normal person flinch, but Valtor was unfamiliar with the object of Diaspro's hatred. At least not yet.
"By Prince Sky I assume you mean the lone Prince of Eraklyon?"
"Yes…" Diaspro was incredulous, what other Prince Sky was there?
"This is easy enough to solve, you just need to make him fall head over heels in love with you. So he will forget this other woman." Valtor smiled.
"I've tried ev-" Valtor cut her off by lifting his hand. When he had the attention of her lovely orange eyes, he reached into his vest pocked. A beautiful crystal bottle filled with a swirling pink and red potion emerged from within. Its size was larger than should have logically fit within his vest, but of course it was a magic pocket with endless space inside.
He placed the sparkling crystal bottle before the Princess on the marble tea table. Her orange eyes were inextricably drawn to the bottle and the swirling potion within. It was undeniably powerful. One look at the full, dark colours of the potion told her that. When she was finally able to break her gaze from it and look at the handsome wizard, he was smiling faintly.
"This is the most powerful love potion known to man. I stole it not long ago from a realm of affection, but I never knew how it would become useful to me until today." He seemed pleased with the turn of events.
"A love potion?" Diaspro seemed unconvinced. Love potions had failed her before.
"Don't be sceptical dear, I have enhanced this potion with my own source blood. This is no longer a simple potion, but a curse."
"Curse?!" Suddenly she was afraid, but at the same time intrigued and she reached out to touch the bottle. "Can nothing break it then? I know curses are powerful."
"Nothing save my death will break this curse."
Diaspro frowned and looked the wizard up and down, "how old are you?"
Valtor laughed heartily at the question, which made the Princess frown even deeper, but she never loosed her grip on the cursed potion. She held it close to her breast, as if it was her only salvation.
"I will never die of natural causes, since I was not born, but created. Do not worry, between the two of us, you will die of old age first," his response was full of mirth.
"You can still be killed."
"Not by ordinary means dear Princess."
"That doesn't exactly ease my anxiety, if this is discovered I will be tried and killed as a treasonous subject!"
"Will you feel better if I tell you I was created by the Ancestral Witches?" Diaspro gasped and nodded vigorously at the news. "Good, now all you need to do is drink this together with your Prince and he will fall madly in love with you. He will still be as you desire and remember him to be, but there may be other changes to him because of the potion. If you decide to use it, you will have to figure out those changes for yourself."
"Is that all? What do you want in return?"
"Those who drink of my blood become linked with me as my servants."
"Servant! Who do you think I am?!" Diaspro angrily slammed her free hand on the table while clutching the potion ever tighter.
"Forgive me, I misspoke. Perhaps 'disciple' is a better word to describe what our relationship will become." Valtor thoughtfully stroked his chin, quickly rectifying his mistake.
"Explain yourself." She calmed down a little, but was still angry with his choice of words.
"You will become linked with me. We will be able to communicate over vast distances without the use of magic and I will be able to share a portion of my power with you. In return you will be able to carry out tasks for me in your new position as Princess Consort." Valtor smiled when he used the words Diaspro most wanted to hear and her eyes sparkled like two orange gemstones. "So you see, this is a mutually beneficial long-term partnership, you will also be my first disciple."
"I see, it does sound appealing." The gemstone fairy calmed down after thinking of the benefits of being linked with a magical creature as powerful as the handsome wizard before her.
"I will leave the potion with you. Think it over and make your choice. Either drink it together with your Prince and have all your dreams come true, or destroy it yourself." Valtor smirked because he knew what choice she would make in the end, her desperation was clear in the white knuckled grip she held over the crystalline bottle throughout their entire conversation.
"Thank you, I will think it over." She clutched the potion closely to her chest while elegantly curtsying. "I appreciate the offer."
"Take your time, I will know your choice when you make it." He smiled and phased back out of the building in a flash, leaving Princess Diaspro alone with her thoughts and the cursed potion in her elegant hands.
The sounds of phantoblades striking each other echoed around an otherwise empty training grounds. Blue and green sparks of energy flashed about, illuminating the dimly lit metallic walls of the room. Two young men were enthralled in a dangerous dance of combat. A blond man wielded a sky blue longsword and shield while the brown haired man wielded a giant green broadsword.
Logically the brown haired man wielding the larger broadsword should be pushing back the blonde man with his lighter weapons, but in reality the opposite was happening. It was clear that the blonde man had something heavy on his mind as he forced his opponent back with a roar.
"Truce Sky!" the brown haired man held up his hands in defeat and sheathed his weapon. The blade made a sucking sound as the translucent green broadsword retreated into the mechanical hilt. "I give up!"
The blonde haired man instantly stopped his charge and awkwardly looked down at his weapons, unsure what to do with his abrupt victory.
"Now are you going to tell me whats going on? Why the aggression, its unlike you."
"Haaa…" The blonde haired man, Sky, sheathed his sword and shield combo with a heavy sigh. He turned to his best friend, "Brandon…"
"I'm here, talk to me." Brandon walked upto Sky and gently slapped him on the shoulder. "Is it about Bloom?"
"Is it that obvious?"
"Well it can't be about your Kingdom, you haven't cared about your Princely duties since you enrolled here at Red Fountain." Brandon chuckled and slapped his friend's back playfully. Sky couldn't help but also let out a light chuckle at his remarks.
"I'm worried about her, nobody's been able to find her for weeks." He sighed and added under his breath, "and I haven't spoken to her for longer than that."
"Bloom is a big girl Sky, I'm sure she can take care of herself. She probably just needed a break from all this. After all she grew up on Earth, right?"
"You're might right…" The prince thought about it and added, "but even after using scrying magic to search Bloom's home planet, Aisha couldn't find her."
"I see. Hey, isn't the Thousand Year Anniversary of Eraklyon this weekend? Who knows, maybe she's coming to surprise you!" Brandon was doing his absolute best to try and dispel the gloom surrounding his best friend.
"Maybe she is…" The prince seemed unconvinced.
"Where else would she go Sky?"
"Yeah...maybe you're right. She's bound to show up there, I'm sure she misses me as much as I miss her." A small smile pulled at his lips, but it didn't reach his eyes.
"There you go! So stop worrying for a while. Actually don't you need to ask for leave for that weekend? Stop putting it off and go talk to Headmaster Saladin!"
Sky did as he was asked and rushed off to ask the Headmaster for leave to return to his home-world for the celebration. To his relief, the older man had already allocated time for the Prince to do so and Sky was immensely grateful.
The next few days until the weekend moved painfully slowly, as if the whole world was drowning in molasses.
Sky was beyond antsy. He could barely concentrate on his studies or training, but most of his teachers cut him some slack. It was common knowledge that the Millennial Anniversary of his Kingdom was that weekend. The teachers attributed his distracted attitude to that huge event and chose not to push him too hard.
The day of the party finally arrived and all of the Specialists piled into their ship at Sky's incessant prodding.
"Enough Sky! The world isn't going to end if we are delayed five more minutes to check the ship systems!" A dark-magenta haired man finally snapped as he sat down at his console to run diagnostic checks on the ship.
"Riven is correct Sky. Please sit down and let us do this properly." A tall man with glasses agreed with his surly friend from the pilot's seat.
"Sky come here, let Timmy focus and help me check our bags." Another man with long black hair called from the back of the cockpit with two bags hanging from either arm.
"Sorry Timmy." Sky called out to the pilot, who simply waved him away with a smile. "How can I help Helia?"
"Make sure everyone packed the right clothes, we wouldn't want to embarrass you at your own party." The elegant man with black hair spoke softly while hooking his long tresses behind his ears.
Sky did as he was asked and they went through each bag one by one. As expected nobody made a mistake, but nobody commented as it was clear Helia created a task to help distract the Prince from his emotions. Thankfully it worked and the other three men were able to finish their preparations. All five men strapped themselves down in their seats and Timmy swiftly flew the group towards the neighbouring pink school for fairies.
The bright red and black ship smoothly landed in the quadrangle of the magical school under Timmy's skilful hands. After completing their landing checks, Riven opened the cargo bay doors and they exited to greet the Winx, who were patiently waiting outside with Headmistress Faragonda and Griselda.
The two older fairies bid the girls farewell and reminded them of their curfew, but told them to enjoy themselves at the party. Both woman congratulated Prince Sky on behalf of Alfea and all the fairies enrolled, past and present.
"Where is Bloom?" Sky asked once they were finished.
The Winx all glanced at Headmistress Faragonda and Aisha in turn. Both of whom made eye contact before Aisha stepped up to pat Sky's shoulder comfortingly. "We haven't heard anything yet."
"I see." His face instantly became gloomy, but he plastered a mask of royalty on his face and hid his sadness behind a perfectly presentable smile. "On behalf of Eraklyon and its citizens, I thank you for the congratulations."
Headmistress Faragonda nodded and the Prince walked back into the ship.
The Winx bid their teachers farewell before they rushed into the ship. Helia and Riven secured their luggage before they recommenced their pre-flight checks and took off towards Sky's home realm.
This flight would take much longer than the trip from Red Fountain to Alfea, at least a few hours, but this allowed the Winx and the Specialists enough time to change into their formal attire before arriving at the palace fresh in all their splendour.
Aisha, Tecna, Flora and Musa were wearing the same dresses from Stella's Princess Ball because they didn't have the time and/or funds to shop for new ones. So while it was slightly painful for Stella to see them dressed that way, she understood why it was necessary. Especially now that she was cut off from her position and wealth after being removed from the Solarian Royal Registry.
Only Stella was wearing a different dress since her Princess gown was ruined the night of her ball and it would have been way too extravagant to wear to another Kingdom's Anniversary party anyways.
Instead she was wearing an altered dress from a previous party. It was a long pink sparkly gown that reached her ankles, but did not touch the ground. It had thin sparkly straps and a V shaped neck-line which showed off her assets. Flora made her a transparent pink shawl to wear around her shoulders from the petals of one of her plants. Her hair was styled in a messy up-do and two pearl tear drop earings hung from her ears elegantly. Her eye make up was simple, slightly pink sparkles on her eyelids and her lips were shiny with a clear sparkly gloss.
Overall Stella looked very beautiful and Brandon could hardly tear his eyes away from her, but it was definitely a more subdued look than she would normally wear. First of all there was a fraction of the jewellery that she would normally be wearing. Her hair was adorned with a single pink rose supplied by Flora and her dress was at least fifty percent less puffy than she would normally be wearing.
While Timmy flew them to Eraklyon, the passengers filled the time with studying, practising small scale magic or talking amongst themselves. Nobody brought up Bloom or any other serious topics and purposely kept the atmosphere light.
"Its been a while…" the masculine voice trailed off.
Musa's silky black hair lightly bounced when she was surprised by the familiar masculine voice. It took her a second to come up with a reply, "we've been really busy with school and the chaos on Andros."
The tall magenta haired man hid his pained expression well as he looked down at his cute and lovely girlfriend. Riven was sad they hadn't had much time to catch up, but it was the same for all of the couples. However unlike the other couples, he and Musa were particularly bad at communicating and sharing their feelings with one another.
"Was there something you wanted to talk about?" Musa asked with a small smile. The seat next to her was empty and the space seemed to contract in on itself, as if it was trying to pull him in.
Riven shook his head, "I'm just glad to see you."
"Me too," Musa replied. She wanted to chat with him more, but felt like she was bothering him from his duties on the ship. So she kept quiet while her dark blue eyes lingered on him longingly as he walked away. The music fairy shook her head and returned to reading her homework with a small smile.
Flora and Helia had been sitting together since the beginning of the flight. The nature fairy was happily showing off her outfit to him – which she had magically made from a beautiful pink plant that she grew herself. He was showering her with praises and love as he sketched her in various different poses. The two of them were lost in their own little world, completely oblivious of the other passengers, the situation or where they were. Their focus was entirely on creating beautiful art together, Helia as the artist and Flora as his model and muse.
On the other side of the ship, Tecna boldly walked up to Brandon and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned to look at her, pulling his attention away from the navigation console and smiled, "how can I help you Tec?"
"I am here to relieve you of your duties." She replied with a perfectly stoic expression.
Brandon glanced at Timmy who nodded in affirmation. "The console is all yours."
"You should go speak with Stella."
"You're absolutely right." Brandon beamed from ear to ear as he practically skipped his way to the passenger area of the ship to sit next to and converse with his radiant girlfriend.
"Hi Tecna!" Timmy happily greeted her from the pilot seat next to her as she sat down in the empty navigation console.
"Hi Timmy, I'm pleased to see you."
"Me too, did you look over the data I sent you last time?"
"I did, your experiment is fascinating." A rare smile graced her intelligent features and her teal eyes sparkled in excitement. "I would be most pleased if you would allow me to assist you."
"Of course! I was hoping you would ask, I value your input the most." Not only were his words full of love and romantic intentions towards the technology fairy by his side, but it was clear that he also valued her intellect.
"I appreciate your intention very much." While to an outsider their conversation seemed very reserved and distant, they both knew how much one person cared for the other. Words were unnecessary when one look was enough to convey infinite emotions between the two of them.
For two people from the coldest, most emotionally restrained and most logical realm – Zenith – they were the most passionate romantic partners among the couples aboard the red fountain ship. It was less obvious from an outsider's perspective when comparing them to Brandon and Stella who showered each other in affectionate words and loving touches; and completely opposite from Musa and Riven who were great at communicating with their friends and really terrible at talking to each other. Their relationship was surprisingly similar to Flora and Helia's as they enjoyed working on projects together and sharing their passions more than empty words of love and affection.
While Tecna and Timmy caught up with each other, Brandon made his way to Stella's side. The fairy of the sun and moon was absentmindedly flipping through the pages of a textbook, clearly not really reading it. He sat down beside her and softly pulled the book out of her grasp, closed it and set it aside.
"Love, what are you thinking about?" Brandon gently asked as he wrapped a toned and muscular arm around her delicate frame, enshrouding her in his comforting scent.
"Father, the party and Bloom." Stella commented as she inhaled his smell gratefully.
"Can I keep you company?" He asked with a gentle smile.
"Yeah, please," Stella leaned her head delicately on his shoulder, careful not to rub off her makeup on his formal clothing. They simply sat there together for a long time, not speaking or thinking of anything. Just enjoying each other's company.
Across from them, Aisha came out of the bathroom with a frown. Such an expression was almost permanently plastered on her face these days. She sat down next to Musa in silence and the music fairy merely nodded her silent greeting at her friend. It wasn't time to bring up bad news so they both kept their mouths shut.
Aisha's thoughts were drowning in anxiety as the horrific scenes of Andros played out in her mind. It had become a bad habit of hers to use scrying water magic to check on her realm. There was nothing she could do about the situation, but she couldn't help torturing herself by looking every day.
Timmy's voice over the intercom broke her out of her thoughts, "We are now arriving in Eraklyon Royal Airspace. Everyone please strap yourselves in. Sky please come to the bridge."
Sky broke himself out of his daze slumped against the wall of the passenger deck and followed the familiar path to the bridge. Through the main window he saw the ship entering into the Eraklyon realm's atmosphere. Without needing to be asked he sat at the communications console opposite from where Riven was working and picked up the headphone and microphone.
"This is Eraklyon Tower. Please identify yourself Red Fountain ship." He heard a faintly masculine voice over the intercom.
"This is Red Fountain Speeder Class Airship Mark A4-327, I am Prince Sky of Eraklyon. I am sending through my identification hex-key through to you now." Sky dispassionately replied and typed a long string of numbers and letters into the console.
"Acknowledged. Welcome back to Eraklyon Prince Sky, we are happy to have you home in time for the anniversary."
"Thank you Eraklyon Tower. I am happy to be back for the celebration."
"We have reserved your usual landing space for you Prince Sky, you are cleared for landing. Tell your pilot to head for Dock A3 in the Royal Docks."
"Thank you Eraklyon Tower, Over and out." Sky disconnected the communications and relayed the docking information to Timmy, who skilfully flew and landed them in the familiar space docks.
Everyone quickly unbuckled and headed to the airlock. As they exited the ship, led by Sky and Timmy, the Winx were impressed by the sight of the dock workers all lined up either side of the exit to salute Prince Sky and celebrate his return.
The dock-master approached them, he was a short stocky man with scars all over his face and arms, but he warmly greeted them, "welcome home Prince Sky and friends. Feel free to leave your ship in our capable hands, we'll run maintenance and fill the tank for you."
"Thank you dock-master." Sky replied with a nod. The dock workers immediately scattered like ants towards their assigned posts and got to work.
"If you head that way, your usual attendant is waiting for you Prince Sky." The dock-master pointed at the main dock doors. He returned to work with a wave, yelling vague instructions at the workers as he walked away.
"Lead the way your highness!" Riven jokingly slapped Sky on the shoulder and Sky smiled softly before plastering his royal mask on his face and leading the way forward. The rest of the group followed behind him in lockstep.
The elegantly dressed group met up with Sky's usual attendant, an older man dressed in a perfect butler suit. He wore a single monocle and his long white hair was tied back into a neat ponytail. "Welcome home Prince Sky."
"Thank you Gainsly." Sky replied and nodded at his attendant. The older man led the party away from the docking bay and presumably towards the party. Unexpectedly to the Winx and the Specialists, the party was hosted in the main Royal Gardens of the Royal Palace of Eraklyon rather than in the ballroom.
Gainsly noticed the party's confusion and with a glance at Sky he explained "His Majesty decided to host the celebrations outside in order to showcase the expansive stars and planetary bodies of the Eraklyon Ream Space. He wants to convey the splendour and power of the realm that has stood the test of time for one thousand years."
"That makes sense, thank you for explaining it for us." Tecna replied for the group while the non-royal members of the group took in the splendour and wealth surrounding them inside the palace grounds.
"You are most welcome young lady."
Gainsly's explanation was the only topic of conversation that sprouted up on their short walk to the gardens. Once they arrived he handed the group off to the party announcer who confirmed their identities before allowing them entry to the garden.
"Presenting: Prince Sky, accompanied by Crown Princess Aisha and Esteemed guests from Alfea School for Fairies and Red Fountain School for Specialists." The crier loudly announced their presence as the guards beside him opened up the front gate leading to the Main Royal Gardens where the party was hosted.
Upon hearing that the prince had arrived with his friends, the crowd of nobles, media and other esteemed guests turned to bow to him and Aisha before turning to each other and gossiping about Stella and the missing Princess of Domino. It was common knowledge that she and Prince Sky were dating and it was exceedingly odd that he arrived without her and with another princess hanging on his arm.
The gossiping voices didn't stop even after the two of them separated and stood at a respectable distance from one another in their group. There was obviously nothing between them, but nobles were known to stir up gossip and drama over the slightest action.
Sky and Aisha shared an exasperated look, but it would have been worse if either of them walked in without a partner of some kind. So they shrugged it off.
Aisha swiftly separated from the group to mingle with the nobles she knew like the expert socialite she was and Sky bee-lined right for the Royal dais where his mother and father were seated in their golden thrones, waiting for him.
Before he could reach the dais, a swish of blonde hair obscured his vision as a young woman with familiar orange eyes stepped in front of him, blocking his path. She was wearing an elegant red, satin dress that was created with horizontally cut and sewn swaths of fabric. It hugged her body tightly but the shrouds of fabric obscured any details. She held a pair of crystal wine glasses in either hand. Overall she gave off a sultry, mature and elegant impression all at once. Sky was fiercely loyal to Bloom, but at the end of the day he was still a man and a man would appreciate a beautiful woman. Even more so since he used to be engaged to this particular woman.
"Sky…" She trailed off softly. His name was filled with all of her mixed emotions from their shared past.
"You look beautiful Diaspro." He commented politely. At first the gemstone fairy was unsure if he meant it, but she could see his sincerity in his gorgeous blue eyes. It made her heart flutter in excitement whenever he treated her kindly and tenderly.
"Thank you Sky, you look handsome as well." She replied with a radiant smile as she gestured to his well cut suit and neat hair. Careful not to spill the contents of the crystal wine glass she was holding. Sky looked down at the glass, filled with a dark-red wine and understood Diaspro's intention.
He took the glass from her outstretched hand and she let out a small gasp, surprised to see him taking the initiative.
"I wanted to share a final drink with you…for old times sake."
"Final?" Sky asked.
"After this, I wont be approaching you again." Diaspro was laying the groundwork for her next move, just in case the cursed potion didn't work. It didn't hurt to be prepared for all scenarios and she didn't entirely trust Valtor either.
"You don't have to go that far Diaspro." A sad look spread across Sky's handsome face as he locked his gaze with hers. "We will always be friends."
"I'm happy you feel that way, but it also hurts me to hear you say that." She broke her look from him and stared at his shoes.
"You…" Sky gulped as sudden realisation hit him like an electric shock. "You really fell in love with me?"
"Of course I did!" Diaspro almost shouted at him, but was able to hold herself back.
"I'm sorry for causing you so much pain then. I really thought you were in the same situation as me in our arrange married. I thought neither of us held much affection for each other."
"How could I not Sky? You are such a wonderful person."
"I see...Then as you suggested, this should be our final meeting and drink together, to spare you any further pain."
"Thank you Sky." Diaspro whispered with a small smile on her face and the two of them clinked their glasses together before lifting it to their lips and downing the wine together.
The cursed potion took hold of them both immediately as the dark liquid entered their body. It spread out from their stomachs to their magic core and heart, infecting them both. As their hearts beat, the potion spread across their whole body like a rapidly acting poison. It settled in every fibre of their being and carved itself into the flesh of their necks a distinct "V" symbol.
While Sky's memories were being rewritten, Diaspro let out a soft gasp and reached over to fix his collar to hide the new scar on his neck. Thankfully for her it was not too obvious to see since it was small, but she wanted to be safe. The same scar was on her neck, but she was able to obscure it with her hair and the gemstone necklace she was wearing.
Before long, Sky recovered from the shock of the cursed potion and blinked back into the present time. This time when his eyes locked onto Diaspro's, his gaze was full of affection, longing and a little bit of lust.
Diaspro covered her mouth in shock and nearly let out tears of joy as the man of her dreams walked upto her and embraced her firmly and whispered in her ear, "I love you Diaspro."
"I love you too Sky!" She nearly shouted to the heavens in her glee.
"I must do something love, stay here, I'll be back soon."
"Wait Sky!" She grabbed his arm before he could leave.
"What is it my love?" He immediately turned and held her hands softly.
"How do you feel about Bloom?" The gemstone fairy desperately wanted him to tell her that they held no ties to each other.
"The princess of Domino? We are friends, no?" Sky seemed entirely nonchalant about his statement, but Diaspro was unsatisfied with that.
"No. She…" She hesitated, unsure if he would believe her lies. How far did the potion change his allegiances exactly, she didn't know. "She's a bad person…"
"That…" Sky hesitated and Diaspro started to panic. "Makes sense."
"It does?"
"Yes."
"What makes you say that?"
"Well, why would you lied to me?"
"Is that your only reason?" Diaspro was shocked at the effectiveness of the potion.
"Mostly, but she's also been missing from school for weeks now. If she was a good person she wouldn't make her friends worry like that, would she?" Sky seemed bitter about the situation.
"What if I told you she was an evil dark fairy? Would you believe me?"
"Of course I would."
"Really? Even though I have no proof?" Diaspro was unsure how to feel about the direction the conversation was heading.
"Your words are proof enough for me." Sky confidently declared to her.
"Nobody else will believe me without any evidence Sky." Her face grew dejected.
"Did she do something to you?" His words were laced with anger, but not at her.
"She tried to steal you from me...remember?" As soon as the words left her lips, his eyes glazed over and the memories in his mind were adjusted to match her claim.
"Absolutely, I remember."
"She even used dark magic to try to make you hers." Diaspro pushed the cursed potion further and further. She wanted to know at which point it would stop working, but no matter what she said, he believed all her claims and new memories were actively created in his mind. She could feel the cursed potion taking effect on him every time she spoke a lie, it did everything in its power to make it true in Sky's mind.
"I remember, I can't believe I let her trick me. How was I friends with her for so long?"
"It wasn't your fault Sky. She tricked everyone at Alfea into thinking she was a good person though her actions in the Winx Club."
"You're right. What do you want me to do?"
"Its okay, we can't do anything about her right now."
"I see, I understand why you feel that way. Leave it to me my love, I will fix it." Before she could ask him what he meant, he was already gone from her grip and on the dais kissing his parents and congratulating them.
"Mother, Father, I have an announcement to make. Please don't be too shocked by what I am about to say and do."
"What are you talking about Sky?" His mother asked with a worried expression. The King was curious what his son was thinking about, his son's liaison with Diaspro hadn't gone unnoticed to his ever seeing eyes. So he had some inkling about what he was about to say. It was fine if he got back together with Princess Diaspro since she was originally someone he had chosen for him.
The King silently nodded to his son and gestured for him to approach to podium. Sky smiled gratefully without answering his mother's queries and approached the podium. It didn't take the nobles long to notice his presence and Diaspro grew increasingly nervous as she watched him confidently sweep his gaze across the garden.
"Welcome esteemed guests from far and wide to our Millennial Party. We are grateful for your attendance and congratulations." The nobles clapped politely at his opening remarks. "My name is Prince Sky, first born son of King Erendor and Queen Samara and today I have a very important announcement to make to all of you."
The mass media who were invited to the party took photos and recorded every word Sky uttered as this was his first public appearance since leaving the realm to attend Red Fountain on the planet Magix.
"Today on this momentous moment for our Kingdom and Realm, I want to announce my engagement to Princess Diaspro of Isis!" His voice boomed out over the crowed as his father secretly had the court wizard use magic to enhance his son's voice.
"Prince Sky! What about the Princess of Domino and Crown Princess Aisha of Andros! You were seen dating the former and you arrived to this very party with the latter!" One of the mass media members couldn't help themselves at the news and called out over the guards arriving to block their access to the dais.
The King and Queen had risen to their feet and gestured for Diaspro to join them. Which she quickly did, but Prince Sky didn't step back to join them for a photo opportunity. His Royal training dictated that all questions from the mass media should be ignored by everyone except the King, but Sky had something he wanted to say, something Diaspro had prompted him to think was true.
"The Princess of Domino as you so aptly called her, Bloom as we knew her, is an evil and wicked dark fairy who has allied herself with the forces of darkness! She has been missing for weeks now and thanks to a very reliable source I have contact with I have learned that she was using the Winx Club as a guise to cover up her evil deeds! I myself witnessed her ally with Lord Darkar last year! The Winx themselves can attest to this information!" Sky was so insistent that no matter how much his mother and father gave him disapproving looks or tried to pull him away he continued his tirade.
The mass media immediately turned their attention to the Winx girls who were present at the party and sent a barrage of questions at them. Riven, Brandon, Helia and Timmy tried their best to keep the mass media back as Stella fell to her knees in shock at Sky's announcement.
"What the hell?" Musa sharply whispered to Aisha. "Why would he announce that!"
"We need to think about the why of it later. All eyes are on us now." Tecna quickly added before the fairy of waves could answer. Flora vigorously nodded from behind her.
"She's right. For now we need to grab Stella and get out of here before things escalate." Aisha put her hand on Timmy's shoulder, signalling to him that they were getting ready to run.
The mass media were pushing against the solid shield that were the specialists. Behind the mass media the Eraklyon Royal guards were trying to disrupt them. Even the nobles were gossiping and starting to walk closer so they could get a better look at the traitors. Some of them were even casting defensive magic on themselves as they warily watched the group.
The Winx girls immediately pulled Stella to her feet and started making their way out of the garden. They were following the path back towards the docking bay as it was the only way out that they knew of without Sky there to help them escape.
Sky watched his former allies try to leave and he quickly approached his father with a request, "Father I want your permission to arrest them."
"Sky they are your friends, why did you say those things?" His mother immediately cut in with a disapproving glare.
"I did not lie mother. She really did ally with Darkar last year. You can even ask Headmistress Faragonda about it, she knows everything." He glanced at Diaspro out of the corner of his eye which went unnoticed by his mother. However there is nothing that passes by unnoticed by King Erendor.
The king motioned to the Captain of the Royal Guards, who was always by his side, and ordered him, "arrest them under suspicion of colluding with dark magical creatures. Prince Sky will lead your men."
"Thank you father!" Sky was elated and immediately rushed off towards the dragon pens. The Captain of the Guard nodded silently and instructed his subordinate to deploy the rest of their men to follow the prince.
"Are you alright my dear?" The queen ignored her men and turned towards the lovely young woman standing nearby with an anxious look in her orange eyes.
"Thank you for your concern your majesty, I am alright. I'm just surprised. I had no idea the Princess of Domino had actually allied with Darkar. I heard about the aftermath of his attacks from some friends of mine in Alfea." She curtsied perfectly and went to sit by the Queen while they waited for news from Sky.
"I'm sure things will be cleared up before long." King Erendor said as he remained standing waiting for his son.
Moments later, they could hear the guards in the distance and watched Sky take off on the back of his tamed dragon. While the three royals waited in silence, the rest of the nobility and mass media were noisily chattering below the podium with all kinds of gossip.
The King's eyes narrowed when he watched the Red Fountain ship take off unhindered from the royal docks and his son dejectedly return on his dragon. He didn't bother to stable it and brought it to the garden, much to the shock and wonder of the nobles. He left it flying above and leaped off it to land in front of his family.
"Well?" The King demanded.
"They escaped. After some conflict that started before I arrived, Stella was able to achieve her Enchantix form, with two high level fairies on their team, they were too much for us. They escaped." Sky was angry and disappointed in himself.
"Two?!" Diaspro was in shock. She had no idea that even one of the Winx were Enchantix fairies, let alone two of them. She covered her mouth after her outburst and apologised to her royal in-laws, "forgive me."
"There is nothing to forgive. Enchantix fairies are indeed rare, I am almost impressed." The King replied after glancing at his wife, a former guardian fairy.
She nodded at him, "its true, Enchantix fairies are on another level than regular fairies."
"They have good teamwork and have always been talented at using convergence magic. They also have a lot of combat experience compared to their peers." Sky replied impassively.
Diaspro was a little bit upset with his remarks that could be misunderstood to sound as if he was defending the Winx, but she had to remind herself that thanks to the cursed potion he no longer held any allegiance to Bloom or her friends.
"That's explains a lot. Its fine, we can put out a warrant for their arrest in Eraklyon." The Queen comforted her son with a smile.
"What about outside our realm?" Sky asked.
"We have no authority outside our realm, but if Bloom really is as wicked as you say she is, I will put a bounty on her head. Someone will bring her to us alive eventually." The King replied with a wave and pat his son on his shoulder. After Sky nods and leaves to take his dragon back to the stables, the King stands up on the podium and announces the party over. The mass media are quickly dispersed and the noble guests from far and wide leave garden to retire for the night.
After the last of the Winx disembark from the Red Fountain ship in Alfea's quadrangle, the ship's doors rapidly close before it hurriedly flies off back to Red Fountain. The Specialists would need to report to their Headmaster just as the Winx will need to report to their Headmistress.
Griselda was waiting for them at the front doors and with a disgruntled expression she silently led the dishevelled young fairies to the Headmistress' office. She brought them inside and shut the door behind them. All seven women in the room stared at each other silently for a moment before Aisha sighed and stepped up to tell the teachers of what happened at Eraklyon.
"Thankfully Stella was able to save her father from a stray arrow by blocking him with her body, if not he might have died. In exchange for her sacrifice she earned her Enchantix. Between the two of us using convergence shield magic, we were able to create a strong enough wall to buy the Specialists enough time to warm up the ship and allow all of us to escape unscathed." Aisha finally finished her recount of the events of that night.
"I'm relieved to hear that none of you are hurt." Faragonda was unphased about the news surrounding Bloom. Stella picked up on this immediately.
"So you also knew." The sun fairy spoke so quietly that she almost went unheard, "about Bloom."
"We were only trying to protect you sweetie." Flora gently grabbed Stella's hand and affectionately squeezed it before anyone else could reply to her.
"I can't say I'm not upset, but I get it. You thought I would flip out." Stella sighed and slipped out of Flora's grasp. "I hope you don't mind, but I need to lie down. I'm sure you girls can handle the rest of our report?"
All four of her companions nodded in unison.
She glanced at Faragonda, asking for permission with her eyes. "Get some rest Stella, and congratulations on achieving your Enchantix form."
"Thank you." Stella whispered as she slipped out of the room.
Faragonda rubbed her forehead and sipped some tea with a perturbed expression. "While you were gone I received word that the Queen of the Surface of Andros wants to speak with you Aisha."
Aisha nodded in response with a grim look. Musa wanted to give her a hug, but waited to hear what else Headmistress Faragonda had to say.
"For now you should all return to your rooms and get some rest. I will allow you to miss out on classes tomorrow if you need some more time to rest."
"What about Sky and Bloom?" Flora asked.
"I will use my connections to try and squash these rumours coming out of Eraklyon, leave it with me for a while. I will let you know if I need your help with anything ladies."
"Headmistress, perhaps I can help. I can put together an algorithm to search the Magi-Net and find any information relating to Bloom's whereabouts." Tecna chimed in with a serious expression after flipping out her holo-comm.
"That would be very helpful Tecna, please go ahead and do that. Outside of class time preferably."
"I wont let it interfere with my school work."
"Alright, go rest ladies. You look like you need it."
The four fairies nodded and shuffled their way out of the room, careful not to leave any gemstones or ripped pieces of fabric from their ruined dresses behind in the room.
As soon as the door shut behind them, Griselda turned to Faragonda with a frown, "why would Prince Sky announce Bloom's involvement with Lord Darkar last year?"
"I don't know Grissy old friend, but I am very worried about everything that is happening lately."
"Well," the head of discipline sighed, "I'm going to call some friends and ask if they've heard anything. You have a gargantuan task ahead of you, silencing information coming out of Eraklyon."
"I will be able to keep this quiet for a while at least." Faragonda smiled softly, looking younger than her true age.
"Hopefully King Erendor doesn't get really angry about this."
"I remember him being a stubborn prince when he was younger, I expect he is similar now that he is older and has more power at his finger tips. So long as he doesn't know the information blackout is my doing, he will not be able to do anything about it." Faragonda took another sip of her tea with a slightly smug look on her face. "Besides, he should listen to his elders every now and then."
"I doubt that there are many people who can call themselves the elder of a King."
"Ahh, now I feel old."
"You brought it up!" Griselda replied with a laugh as she gathered the disciplinary clipboard that seemed to be glued to her person. Faragonda sighed, but she smiled as she watched her old friend walk out of the room with a hurried step.
Aisha had yet to change out of her gown and was anxiously standing over one of the bathroom sinks. She traced the magic runes of scrying around the sink with a practised hand as it filled up with clear water. As soon it was full she turned off the tap. The last drop of water fell in the basin and the surface of the water rippled. As the rippling subsided and the water stilled an image slowly came into focus like a foggy window being cleared.
"Daughter!" The gorgeous woman of matching light-brown complexion to Aisha closed her grey-blue eyes and smiled in delight. The crystal circlet adorning her brow sparkled in the light around her and Aisha smiled back at the sight of her mother and the Queen of the Surface Kingdom of Andros.
"I'm pleased to see you mother."
"Why are you dressed in such a state?" Her mother immediately replied with a disapproving look.
"I just got back to school from a misadventure when Headmistress Faragonda informed me of your earlier call."
"Another misadventure?"
"You know how things are for the Winx."
"So long as you don't get hurt and bring no shame to your station, then its fine." Aisha's grimace did not go unnoticed, but neither of them commented on it. "I have some joyous news to share with you."
"Has Valtor been defeated?!" Aisha was shocked.
"No, unfortunately we cannot locate him. Your father thinks he may have escaped from our realm, but I am not sure. It has been quiet for a while." The Queen closed her sparkling eyes thoughtfully.
"Whats the good news then?"
"Your father and I have found you a good wizard to be your fiance!" Her smile was blinding.
"You what?!" For the second time in their conversation, Aisha was shocked.
"Now, now. I know you always said you never wanted to get married, but its your duty as the Crown Princess and we desperately need the assistance of this particular wizard's family."
"I see. So you sold me off." The fairy of waves crossed her arms and glared at her mother.
"Don't be like that. I made the effort to meet the man before I agreed. He is handsome and perfectly polite. Granted I don't know what he might be like behind closed doors, but you must remember that both my marriage and the marriage of your aunt were arranged and we are both happy." The Queen smiled gently.
"Yeah I know, you've told me one thousand times. How powerful is his family exactly?" Aisha groaned unhappily.
"They have a garrison of ten high level wizards, and fifty medium and lower level wizards. They are the most powerful family of wizards we could find with an eligible son around your age. Trust me Aisha, this is for the best. We desperately need the help, Valtor has transformed and killed far too many of our fairies and wizards into his monsters."
"Right. I understand mother." Aisha sighed and through a sad smile she added, "maybe he and I can at least become friends."
"Thanks the spirit my love!" Her mother beamed with joy at Aisha's mature response. "By the way, his name is Nabu and he is on his way to Magix to meet you."
"What? Why is he coming here? He should be helping Andros!"
"He insisted. He said it was his duty to be by the side of his betrothed and assist her in all her endeavours. Besides, if your father is right and Valtor has really left Andros, you could use all the help you can get to fight him."
"Mother..."Aisha trailed off, unsure what to say.
"Don't worry dear, we have reinforcements on the way to help us. I hope you and Nabu make a good team and can take down Valtor soon. I believe in you my love." She blew a kiss to her daughter with a wink.
"Alright fine. Tell me where and when to meet him."
The Queen wrote down the time and address on the water she was scrying from and it appeared in the water that Aisha was watching her from. She memorised the time and place instantly. The mother-daughter duo chatted about some more news and small talk about the palace before Aisha was getting tired and begged her mother to end the scrying.
After their long conversation it was well past midnight and Aisha trudge down the hallway to her room before she tore off her ruined dress and collapsed in her bed in nothing but her underwear. Too tired to change or remove the makeup she was wearing, she fell asleep almost instantly.
To be continued in chapter 5...