PENUMBRA | fate the winx saga

1:TWENTYNINE

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Vienna clenched her eyes shut as she waited for the blow, her arms shaking by her side and her head laid against the cold, stone floor.

By some miracle, it didn't come.

Her eyes opened slowly as it went silent, her brows threaded together in confusion as she lifted her head slightly to stare ahead. Her gaze fell on the Burned One, and to her surprise, she watched as it walked away from her, almost like it was in a trance and being summoned.

The girl let out a shudder of relief as she realised she wasn't dying anytime soon, and pulled herself up into a sitting position, groaning slightly as she felt fabric brush against the small wound on her abdomen. She peeled her shirt up slightly to inspect the damage and found that the cut wasn't as big as she had expected it to be.

If it was a regular wound, she simply would have waved it off as a simple scratch, but the pain radiating from it was horrendous. She couldn't even imagine what Sam was going through.

With slightly shaky hands she pulled the vial of zanbaq free and dumped half the contents straight onto her skin, not having the time to find bandages or even dry cloth. She sighed and placed the half-empty vial of zanbaq back in its place, her shoulder sagging slightly as she leaned against the wall and relished in the relief that the tonic brought her.

"Vienna?" She looked up as her fingers moved discreetly to pull her shirt down, and found two figures standing before her, one rushing towards her and falling to his knees. "What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

"Nope. You should have seen the other guy," she joked but was met with a deadpan expression from Sky as he stared at her. "Uh, there might be a Burned One in the school."

"Shit," he exclaimed as he pulled her to her feet, his eyes scanning her head to toe as he held onto her upper arms to steady her. "Don't tell me you tried to fight the thing by yourself."

"Okay," Vienna shrugged as she leaned down to pick up her discarded sword, wincing slightly as she tried to restrain any sounds of discomfort. "I won't."

"How are you making jokes right now?" Bloom questioned from behind the boy, a confused look on her face. "How are you even standing?"

"Okay, listen." Vienna finally spoke as she sheathed her sword, no traces of amusement on her face as she eyed the two of them. "I thought I was about to die, so sue me for trying to make fun of the situation so I don't cry."

Sky's face softened slightly as he stared down at the girl, and moved so his arms were around her shoulders. "I'm glad you're okay," he murmured as he placed a small kiss on her hairline, her head briefly laying against his chest. "How did you manage to get away?" He questioned as he pulled away from her.

She shrugged slightly. "It just froze and then walked away, like it's looking for something, but I'm not sure what. I'm fine but-" her eyes widened. "Shit. Sam."

Vienna raced down the hallway to where she had left Sam in Terra's suite and pushed down on the handle hard. After realising the doors were sealed, she began to kick against the wooden doors with Sky helping her. After several attempts, the doors burst open and they fell through. They were met with the sight of several fairies standing in defensive positions.

"Hi," Sky trailed off as he eyed Stella.

"Hey."

"We have to get help." Terra interrupted as Vienna rushed towards Sam, the boy sprawled across the floor as Aisha and Musa held onto him. He groaned as he writhed against the floor, which was now covered in his blood.

"We need to get him to the courtyard," Sky ordered as he helped Vienna get Sam to his feet. "They're barricading it off, we'll be safe there."

The whole group moved as fast as they could through the halls and eventually found themselves in the courtyard. The atmosphere felt dark, with the lights still off, the fire fairies attempting to seal the gates with their powers, and the crowds of fairies and specialists working to establish some kind of plan as they all quickly put on their armour.

"Dad," Terra exclaimed as they approached Professor Harvey by the wooden tables.

"Sam?" he questioned as Sky and Vienna lifted the injured boy onto the table. "I need zanbaq, now!" Vienna patted Terra's shoulder in reassurance before moving to find her father, but halted as Farah began to speak from the elevated platform at the front of the room.

"As I'm sure you're aware, Burned Ones have infiltrated the Barrier and the school," she spoke as she addressed the room. "For some reason, the magical energy wells which power everything at the school have failed. I managed to speak with Queen Luna before they did." Vienna turned her head as she felt a grip on her elbow, and found that the hand belonged to Adrianne, with Bex and Natia standing behind her. Vienna gave a tight-lipped smile before turning back towards Dowling. "She understands the gravity of what's happening here, and the Solarian troops are on their way. We're barricading all entrances to the courtyard. We're safe for now..but," Farah continued, "We must prepare for the reality that the Burned Ones may infiltrate the space before they arrive."

Murmurs of shock and fear began to break out through the room, and Vienna's eyes finally found her father standing to the side of the room, a blank expression on his face as his eyes moved over the students.

"This is what we've been training for. Be cautious, but be brave. Let magic guide you, and let's show them what it means to be Alfeans. Prepare the barricade."

The crowd began to disperse, and Vienna finally turned to fully face her friends. "I just saw your text. Are you okay? Did you find the Burned One?"

"Uh, yeah to both," Vienna spoke softly, her fingers nervously twirling with her rings. "Surprisingly it didn't kill me so there's that."

"Shit," Bex breathed out, "what happened? Did you kill it?"

"Not quite," the shadow fairy responded as she spotted her father walking away. "I'll tell you the full story when we're not in a life or death predicament," she promised as she flashed a quick smile at the trio. "I'll find you guys in a bit." With a nod, Vienna moved away and rushed after her father.

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Updates will be slower as my exams are coming up this month 😔

How's everyone doing? Hope you're drinking enough water!!

A x