SECRETS | Fate: The Winx Saga ~ Alternate Season 2

Chapter 33

At nightfall, after spending a long time alone with his children and Stella in a protective shield, Ben returned to his suite, upset and exhausted. It had probably been the worst day of his life, for Luna's death had been even more cruel than Rose's. Sitting on his bed, prostrate, his face in his hands, he sighed for a long time, remembering the azure eyes of this queen he was and would remain in love with. How to live with her absence? The gaping wound would never heal because this crime was far too heinous. He thought of their kiss in his office, the first and last. There had only been one, but it meant the world to him. Their love would remain intact and he would honour his promise to destroy Rosalind with the ring. Nothing could stop him. Tears of grief and bitterness began to roll down the professor's cheeks. He wished he could have kept her with him a little longer, but he had done the right thing by helping the paramedics take her away to the mortuary. At least she would be buried with dignity, since that was all there was left to do. And soon there would be nothing left of her body.
He grabbed his mobile phone and created a protective bubble. He had to warn Farah, the silence had gone on long enough.

***

In the middle of the forest, not far from a stream, a flame was shining next to a wooden hut. Two people, a man and a woman, seemed to be warming themselves around the fire while enjoying a basic meal. For Saul and Farah had been surviving for two days on their own. At night, they took turns keeping watch to avoid being surprised by an attack of Burned Ones, animals or Rosalind, and the couple was getting used to this life, still concerned about Sky, Ben and the others. As they were brainstorming about a plan to free Alfea, the ringing of the fairy's mobile rang.

"It's Ben, I'll put him on speaker," she murmured before picking up.

"Hi Ben, how are you doing? I for one am in the forest with Saul, we fled the house when we heard the Queen was missing."

The couple expected to hear their friend's voice but it was a sob that answered them.

"Ben, what happened?" questioned Saul, madly worried. "Is anyone hurt? Is Sky okay?"

"It's...it's Luna...she's...dead," he stammered, hiccupping, devastated. "Rosalind killed her, she'd sequestered her to torture her into a confession, and finally I was the one who snapped when I heard her groans of pain, thinking that bitch would realease her and let her live. She murdered her, damn it! I feel so terrible not to have been able to protect her...now she's gone forever. I can't live without her, I love her so much..."

His voice had broken so much he had let himself be carried away by his pain and grief. Controlling himself had become beyond his strength.

"Holy shit, I'm sorry, this is dreadful, I don't have the words to tell you how much it hurts to see you like this, you don't deserve this," the Specialist grumbled, growing increasingly exasperated at seeing suffering around him.

"I wish we could be there for you, it revolts and disgusts me. You and Luna were made for each other and she took advantage of that to break you, I want to kill that bitch now," Farah roared, beside herself.

"Yes, we have to kill her, and I have a plan...but we'll need Bloom, Sky, my children and their friends, because she's holding the school in an invisible barrier that no one can pass through."

"Well, okay, that's even worse than we thought," the fairy nodded, bothered. "Tell us your idea, I'll look for a way to weaken her barrier so we can get in without being spotted."

"Before she died, Luna gave me a crystal-adorned ring," he explained in a weak, trembling voice. "It can imprison an evil creature, but to destroy it and its host, we need the Dragon Flame. So we'd have to be able to combine the forces of several fairies to imprison her in there, but Rosalind is already beginning to control the mind of some of the students, and if our allies end up in her clutches, she'll know everything about our plan."

Saul and Farah exchanged a brief, knowing look: this was the chance of a lifetime to get rid of this evil fairy once and for all.

"So, only tell the people you think are strong enough to resist her mind attacks," suggested Saul. "In any case, we have no other way to get rid of her without greatly risking our lives and those of the students."

"Very well, I'll think about it tonight," Ben agreed, determined. "Be careful, I wouldn't want to lose you too..."

"Don't worry, we'll look out for each other," Farah reassured him. "And we'll see you soon."

The botany professor hung up with a resigned sigh before looking up. That's when he saw her. She was standing before him in her metallic pink suit, her hair tied up in an elegant bun, her azure eyes gazing at him with love and kindness.

"Luna?" he breathed, shocked. "Is that you?... But you're dead..."

Without a word, she approached him and held out her hands. The ring was no longer adorning her finger, she was not an illusion created by Rosalind. Incredulous, he stood up to take her hands in his...ghostly hands he could almost feel the consistency of.

"I live in the hearts of people who are dear to me and who love me with a love as pure as the sky," she whispered, holding his wrist and softly placing his palm on his heart.

Gently, he brought his lips to her hand, moved.

"Angel, I thought I'd lost you forever and seeing you again was improbable, I miss you so much," he admitted with a lump in his throat.

She moved closer, looking enigmatic, and placed a tender kiss on his lips.

"I wish I could have lived longer but what you did for me was heroic and I don't want you to have any regrets...my love."

Hearing that nickname, the strongest and most connotative of all, he hugged her, well, the air her figure was formed of. Because that was all that had been left of her, her soul. He would have loved so much to hold her in his arms in the flesh, to feel her quiver under his kisses and shiver under his caresses. But she didn't have a body anymore, she was dead.

She smiled at him frankly, her gaze staring at him, and added:

"You did well to warn your friends, it's very brave to make a plan, and you're right to want to keep your plan as secret as possible, Rosalind is so treacherous. I can't believe I used to be her ally..."

He nodded, literally drinking in her words, wanting the moment to never end. Since Luna was only visible to him and Stella, they could love each other in peace.

"Come on the bed, we'll be better off talking," he offered, pulling the blanket back into place.

But when he turned to take her ghostly hand, she had vanished. Had he been dreaming of this longed-for moment?