SECRETS | Fate: The Winx Saga ~ Alternate Season 2

Chapter 25

At Alféa, Luna took advantage of the fact that Rosalind was giving a class to visit Ben in his office. Knowing that he was in the same area as the fairy did not reassure her, and she wanted to make sure he was okay.
When they got together, the two friends greeted each other and kissed on the cheek, happy to be reunited.

"Luna, it's good to see you!" the botany teacher rejoiced, taking her by the shoulders. "How is Farah?"

She smiled at him, her eyes shining, looking reassuring.

"She's fine, and by the way, Saul is with her right now, a leave of absence has been granted...he's fine too."

Ben thought of his two friends, celebrating their reunion. He knew that none of this would have been possible without the help of the light fairy.

"I'm very glad to hear that, and I thank you again for all you've done for us," he said, taking her hands warmly, grateful. "I couldn't have borne to see Sky lose his mom and go through the same tragedy as my children. Rose passed away in terrible circumstances, and it has been really hard for all three of us, especially when I had to explain to the children that their mom had been murdered."

Upset, the Queen continued to stare at her friend, trying to bring him some comfort through her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Ben, that's awful, I wish I could help you more."

But she couldn't, because she herself had been through a terrible ordeal from which she had never recovered, and from which she spoke little about.

"You don't have to apologise, Lu, you've already done a lot for me, and I wouldn't want it to put you or Stella in danger," he replied in a soft voice.

The last part of his sentence gave her a huge slap in the face. Stella was everything to her, her only family, and losing her was unthinkable.

"You're right, I have to do everything I can to protect Stella, I don't want to lose her too. You know, when I lost Charles, her older brother, I felt like I was dying," she confessed, her eyes misty with tears of pain. "Stella was only one year old, she has no memory of her brother. He was only four when he fell out of a window while playing with his friends on his birthday. It was all my fault. If I had been more careful, he would still be alive now. I've always blamed myself, my ex-husband too, and my relationship didn't survive, we ended up divorced. Since the tragedy, I've been so afraid of losing Stella that I'm controlling her life, and I'm destroying her."

The fairy had finished her sentence trembling, her voice broken with emotion. Ben was the first person she'd spoken to about the great tragedy of her life, and she knew he'd find the right words.
Heartbroken by the suffering of the woman he was beginning to love, he placed both hands on her face, caressing it tenderly. He already knew the story, which had made a big splash in the press, but he couldn't bear the weight of her guilt.

"Luna, please darling, stop feeling guilty, you weren't alone in watching the children that day," he murmured, bringing his face close to hers. "You couldn't have had your eyes everywhere. I know it's about your son, I know you never get over the death of your child, but there's no point in blaming yourself. You are and will remain a good mother, Stella is a teenager, she needs freedom, but she can be proud of you. And you don't rewrite the past."

The light fairy placed her hands on the stomach of the man who was supporting her, touched by his words. She had not been mistaken about him, this sensitive man who knew how to comfort her. She had to mourn her son, accept the accident, whoever was responsible, and stop feeling guilty. Rosalind had used her pain enough to get what she wanted.

"You know, Ben, Rosalind has been exploiting this vulnerability over and over again," she confessed, ashamed. "She asked me to cover up the massacre of Aster Dell or I'd be blamed for it, but more importantly, to go after my son' spirit and destroy his grave. I thought I'd forgotten all about it when she was locked up, but when she resurfaced, she reiterated her threats, and she was willing to reveal everything for Aster Dell, so I agreed to hire her as headmistress. We have to be careful, because she'll also try to manipulate me to find Farah."

Shocked by what Luna had just told him, he put his arm around her shoulders, placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, and pulled her to him. The poor lady didn't deserve this! Rosalind really was the worst of the worst, she didn't have an ounce of humanity, she was the incarnation of evil. One thing was certain, he would do anything to protect his friend from this bitch. How could she manipulate a mother by exploiting the death of her child?

"Luna, we have to stick together, we have to stand up to her and keep our secret," he whispered as he pressed his forehead to hers, his arms closing around her waist. "We can't let her know Farah's alive, we have to come up with a plan to lock her up again. And I don't believe we can do that without Bloom's help."

"Okay, I'll talk to Stella, she'll be able to convince her," the Queen agreed, panting.

Her heart was pounding as the tension was mounting. This contact with her daughter's teacher was electrifying her to the core, she could feel his every vibration echoing through her body. She could even feel his breath on her face. He was there, just inches from her mouth, and she was not supposed to love him.
However, against all odds, he slid his lips over her nose, before moving down to her lips, which he began to lightly brush. Too late! This touch made her light bright, and she let out an uncontrolled moan of happiness. He was about to kiss her!

Suddenly, a negative energy filled the room and startled them. The magic had abruptly disappeared. They couldn't kiss here, not now. It was far too risky.
And they were not wrong to be afraid! Behind the door, under Rosalind's control, Beatrix, who had been skipping class, had been listening to them for several minutes and watching them through her powers.

She smiled. Thanks to their telepathy, her Mistress would know the truth in the next few seconds...