The Legend of the Dragon's Breath - Fate: The Winx Saga

A New Enemy

„Here's your tea." Saul Silva gingerly passed a cup of freshly brewed tea to Farah, who was sitting on the brown leather sofa in her office. Right next to her was Riley, who was already holding her cup of tea. The steam slowly rose, enveloping Riley in the scent of orange and apple. The young fairy closed her eyes, inhaled the scent deeply and let the warm steam dance on her skin. She felt like she had run an entire marathon. She felt weak and would just like to lie down in her bed and sleep for 15 hours. But a look at Farah Dowling revealed that the headmistress of Alfea felt no different. Riley noticed early on that Miss Dowling was a graceful and strong woman, who also radiated this outwardly through her dignified bearing. But now her shoulders were slacker than usual. Instead of her usual sitting position as if invited to tea by the Queen herself, Riley was seated by a woman who seemed closer in reach than the powerful and proud Headmistress Farah Dowling. In front of her sat a woman who was just like Riley herself. A woman who needed a break from time to time.

Apparently, Farah caught Riley's look on her. She eyed the child in front of her and wrinkled her nose slightly. Saul, meanwhile, had sat down in the chair that was to the right of the sofa, right next to Farah. Riley didn't take her eyes off Miss Dowling. Instead she put her tea down on the side table and asked: "Didn't you say that the only thing you get is a slight headache?" Riley grinned in amusement. Because what she felt while Farah searched her memories was anything but a little headache. But Farah's face remained unreadable. Riley's smile faded.

Farah shifted her position on the sofa and gave a short sigh before starting to speak: "I have to admit that I thought it would be easier to scan your memories." She raised an eyebrow and pressed her lips tightly together before continuing. "Apparently someone used magic to hide your memories from you and from anyone who tried to read them. That's why it was so exhausting for you." Farah emphasized the "you" and straightened up a bit on the sofa. Like she doesn't want anyone to see her exhaustion.

But Riley didn't understand the whole set-up from Miss Dowling. She frowned and added quietly: "And for you..." Farah's eyes widened as Riley's words reached her ears. Saul shifted forward in the chair. He knew Farah didn't like being reminded that she wasn't immortal. Farah cleared her throat, ran her hands over her lap as if to straighten her clothes, and glanced at Saul, who gave her a soft look.

"Yes... And for me...But we broke the barrier around your memories so I had full access to what happened." Added Farah as if to justify her exhaustion. Saul nodded his agreement and asked:

"So what did you see?" Saul's blue gray eyes darted between Riley and Farah as he searched for an answer. But when his eyes met Farah's, she also looked at Riley intently. Farah had in fact seen everything, but the events of the last few days had rained down on the two fairies with an enormous speed that it was difficult even for a practiced mind fairy to grasp them. The Headmistress wanted to find out what Riley had seen and if the memories had come back, or if she was only able to penetrate the strong barrier for a moment. But one thing was clear to Farah from the start. She recognized the magical footprints left on the barrier and she only knew one person besides herself who was able to cast such a spell: Rosalind.

"Everything happened so fast...", answered Riley. She closed her eyes for a moment as if to sort her thoughts. "I can only remember fragments. I was at home, about to go to training - when these three girls were standing in the living room. My aunt lay motionless..." Tears welled up in Riley's eyes. She swallowed shakily and wiped the tears from her face with the sleeve of her shirt. "uhm.." The young fairy took a deep breath and tried to get the image out of her head. "The next thing I remember was this cold room, my arms felt heavy and I felt weak. But when that big wooden door swung open, two people came in. One of them is the woman... Rosalind. She and this other girl helped me out. Before I knew it, I walked through some kind of portal that led me straight to the stone circle-" Riley explained to the two Headmasters what she had seen. Farah nodded at each correct description of the images. "- so Rosalind isn't the evil one after all? I mean, she freed me from this chamber and from the runic limiters..." Riley looked absently at her wrists, where the marks from the runic limiters were still visible.