SECRETS | Fate: The Winx Saga ~ Alternate Season 2

Chapter 18

As soon as they arrived in the graveyard, Ben felt something powerful, like his bond with nature was growing closer. What had happened here? Where was Farah? There was no sign of her, as if she had never come here, but the botany teacher was suddenly drawn out of his thoughts by the voice of the light fairy.

"Ben, look at the white flowers by that tree, they are more vigorous than the others!" she exclaimed, pointing to a small clump of flowers under a tree.

Her friend turned around and walked over to it, feeling the bond grow stronger and stronger. He knelt on the soil and pinched one of the petals to connect with the plant. The wave of emotion that came over him at that moment was indescribable. These flowers had an admirable life force, an unfailing courage.
All in a sudden he had a flash of Saul holding Sky in his arms, still a toddler.
He couldn't remember seeing this scene in his life, as the setting was his friends' bedroom. But if it wasn't one of his memories, it could only be Farah's...trying to communicate something to him!

"Luna, Farah has been turned into flowers, I'm sure of that," he assured as he stood up, looking serious. "I just felt her, she showed me one of her memories."

The Queen gave him a surprised glance, astonished. Even though she was one of the most powerful fairies, she had never been confronted with a case like this, and felt a little useless.

"What do we do now?" she asked gently.

He walked over to her and placed his hand on her shoulder, scanning her wounds, which didn't seem to be healing on their own.

"We'll go back to Alfea to treat you before Rosalind lets her students go. The good news is that Farah is alive, but we need to return her to human form."

Luna nodded with a dejected sigh. The task would probably be very complicated, even more so without outside help. As much as she admired Professor Harvey's pugnacity and perseverance in his work, he was not specialised in transformation spells.

"I'm sorry I can't help you more, I realise that Rosalind is way ahead of us because she has mastered a magic that is almost unknown to us," she admitted, disappointed.

Ben put his arm around hers and they began to walk at a brisk pace.

"Don't underestimate yourself, we'll find a way to counter the spell, together, I promise."

She said nothing, doubting his words. She was beginning to realise that Rosalind posed an even greater danger than the Burned Ones, and that was a bad sign. Teaming up with Ben was not a bad thing after all if they wanted to protect the students. The mind fairy had promised more effective training than Farah had provided, but at the time, Luna didn't know that she'd gotten rid of her rival to take her place, which was a complete game changer.

The Queen no longer believed Rosalind's lies, and she had also repeatedly blackmailed her into doing her bidding.

***

When they came back to Alfea, Rosalind had not yet finished teaching her class, and they slipped quietly into the professor's office. He left her alone for a moment because he had to get ice for her swollen bruise. The light fairy took the opportunity to scan the room with her eyes. Everything was simple and tidy, just like the wise Professor Harvey. He had brought her here to treat her and had left her alone for a moment, proof of the trust he already had in her, which she intended to honour. He returned a few minutes later with a block of ice inside a towel, which he handed to her.

"Here, this will soothe you, and the inflammation will subside," he said in a sweet voice, smiling benevolently at her.

She smiled back and placed the ice on the swelling, which began to go down little by little.
He then softly took her hand, cleaning the scratches on her forearm with a cleaning solution. Luna couldn't help but stare at him, as if hypnotised by such a thoughtful and caring man. His movements on her skin were relaxing her, so that she let out a moan of satisfaction. She thought of nothing more, only of his caresses that were making her feel so good.

"Are you feeling better, Luna?" he interrogated, concerned.

This question pulled her out of her thoughts, so much so that she wigged out.

"Y-yes, my cheek has swollen down, I'm feeling less pain," she stammered, blushing. "I really do thank you for everything you're doing for me and for saving my life when we hardly know each other."

At that time Ben abruptly removed his hands from the Queen's, not because he was offended by her body language but because once again the painful memory of his murdered wife surfaced. He would never have made the same mistake. He would never have let the fairy die and left Stella an orphan like his own children. He himself had risked putting himself in mortal danger for her, and he didn't regret it.

"Is everything all right, Ben?" she questioned, pained.

He nodded reassuringly. He didn't feel like talking about this right now.

"Yes, it's just that we need to keep Rosalind far from us, I don't want her to pick on the children or either of us."

"Okay, you're right, it would be safer to meet elsewhere in the future," she agreed.

They probably wouldn't see each other often, she knew, but it was the only way to avoid Rosalind, as spying was her favourite pastime.
In less than twenty-four hours, Luna had become attached to her daughter's teacher, who was showing her that gentleness and kindness were the key to balance. And she was ready to fight alongside him to bring Farah back.