Fire and Ice - Riven | Fate: The Winx Saga

Chapter Twenty-Four: Cage

I sat in my room flicking through my homework as Terra kept walking in and out, dropping plants off at Stella's empty side of the room. She left again and as I heard her coming back, one of the plants had fallen off the drawers and onto the floor. Terra, Aisha and Musa then rushed in to see what happened. "It wasn't me." I said, immediately.
"Can we agree it's green enough?" Aisha asked Terra.
"Why are you putting plays over there anyway?" I questioned.
"I don't like the empty space." Terra admitted. "It's been over a week, we have to admit that Stella isn't coming back."

Aisha and Musa then left the room as Terra turned to me. "I thought you had a date tonight?"
"Yes." I claimed. "I do... It's a late night one."
"Don't you want to start getting ready?"
"No, I think I'm gonna go like this." I told her. Terra then nodded and headed for the door but I stopped her. "You're not angry with me, are you?"
"Angry? Why would I be angry?"
"I know you liked Dane." I said.
"Yeah, but then he said all that stuff about me in Beatrix's video."
"So, you're okay with it?" I questioned.
"Yes." Terra said, unconvincingly before opening my wardrobe. "Now, let me help you find something to wear because you cannot wear that."

I looked down at my outfit and frowned. "What's wrong with my outfit?" I questioned.
"Nothing if you were going to sit in a dark cinema watching a film about poodles."
"Wow. I cannot believe you just insulted me." I laughed as I stood up.
"I'm sorry."
"No, it's okay. It's nice to see you standing up for yourself." I told her. "I'm just gonna go and use the toilet." Terra nodded and I left the room.

I entered Bloom's room to find her talking to Aisha. "What's wrong with my outfit?" I asked.
"Nothing." Bloom claimed.
"It looks great." Aisha told me.
"Liars." I smiled before looking over at Bloom who showed me her phone from behind Aisha.
"Shit. I have to get this." She stated as she grabbed her jacket. "Now." She whispered as she walked past me. I then looked nervously at Aisha.
"Sky just texted me." I told her. "Would you mind telling Terra that I don't have time to change?"
"Uh, yeah. Sure." Aisha said.
"Great." I smiled before running out of the suite and after Bloom.

"His shift's just started." She explained when I caught up to her.
"Okay, so we're really doing this." I said. Bloom nodded and we began to make our way through the college until we found Dane guarding the doors. A guard was sat on the floor beside him and looked like he was asleep.
"It's okay. He's out." Dane told us.
"What did you do to him?" I asked. Dane reached into his pocket and pulled out a small vile of something.
"Relax. It's a minor sedative. He'll be awake in an hour." I nodded. "She's waiting."

Dane let us through the door and I followed Bloom inside. Beatrix was sat on a single bed in the middle of a cage. Her wrists were bleeding from whatever Farah had put on her to stop her from using her magic. "Somebody took her sweet time." Beatrix said as she climbed off of the bed. "And I see you brought a guest."
"Did you kill Callum?" Bloom asked her.
"Right at it then. Good girl." Beatrix grinned.
"Did you?"
"Short answer, yes."
"What the hell, Beatrix?" I questioned.
"Do we want to know the long answer?" Bloom added.
"How about the medium one? Callum wasn't just some suck up assistant. He wanted the same thing I want." Beatrix told us.
"He wanted to break Rosalind out?"
"Bit more complicated than evil Beatrix kills hapless assistant. I mean, that's the story the faculty's going with, right? I mean, I get it. Who wants to deal with nuance?"
"Dowling, Harvey and Silva, they haven't told us the truth about a lot of things, but just because they haven't doesn't that you have." I said.
"You don't believe me when I say they torched Aster Dell?"
"If they did, if they killed Bloom's birth parents... she needs to find out what happened that day."
"Are you saying this because you want the answer for Bloom's sake... or for yours?" Beatrix questioned, smiling.
"What is she talking about?" Bloom asked me.
"Miss Dowling never had a goddaughter." Beatrix said. "Go on... tell her."

I took a deep breath as I looked at Bloom. "Last night, I was thinking. Farah hasn't told me anything about my parents. I've never even see a picture. For all I know she could've made up the names she gave me." I told Bloom. "When you told me what happened at Aster Dell, I just... I thought it was strange. Farah told me my parents died the night that Aster Dell was destroyed. Do you not think it's all a bit strange to be a coincidence? They blow up a town and three girls from different backgrounds all happen to be orphaned?"
"What are you saying, Eira?" Bloom asked me.
"I'm saying Farah lied to me." I told her. "She never knew my parents." Beatrix began to clap as she smiled even more. "I want to know what happened that day."
"Then it's a good job I know someone who can tell you." Beatrix told us.
"Rosalind." I whispered.

Beatrix walked to the other side of her cage and me and Bloom followed her. "Where are they keeping her?" Bloom asked.
"I can show you how to get to her." Beatrix said.
"What do you want?"
"These lovely accessories Dowling gave me hurt like a motherfucker." Beatrix said as she showed us her wrists. "On your way out, Dane will give you a trinket that can help get rid of them. Think of it like a fairy battery. You can use your magic to charge it at the Stone Circle."
"You want us to free you?" Bloom asked.
"You shouldn't trust me." Beatrix said. "You shouldn't trust your friends, you shouldn't trust the faculty. The only person you should trust is Rosalind. And if you want to see her, this is your only option."
"Done." I said before looking at Bloom. "Now, can we go before we get caught?"

Bloom nodded and we left Beatrix alone in her cage. When we got outside, Dane handed us a book. "I know you and Beatrix are friends but-?" Bloom began.
"Why am I helping her? Easy." Dane said. "She's the only person here who ever made me feel like being different was a good thing... So, why are you two here?"
"Beatrix is the only one who's given me answers." Bloom told him. "I just don't know how far I'm willing to go to get them."
"You should get back to your hall." Dane then told us. "He's gonna wake up soon. You don't want to be around when he does." Me and Bloom nodded.
"Thank you." I said to him. "Thank you for helping us get in."
"I've done my part. You just need to do yours."
"Come on." Bloom told me as she pulled my arm, and we left.