The Queen of Shadows - World of Winx rewrite S.1

Chapter 13: The Fashion Show Must Go On

"Stella?!"

She opened her eyes, meeting the Winx's shared concerned look on their faces. Stella realized she was lying on the floor. Tecna held a weird oblong device, moving it above her. Aisha had put her hand under Stella's head, while Flora handed over a cup of tea.

"What happened?" Stella groaned as she got help up from the ground.

"You zoned out and suddenly fell down onto the floor," Flora explained.

"But according to Tecna's gadget, you are okay," Aisha continued.

Tecna cleared her throat, "Device..."

Now Stella finally remembered everything. The vision? Or something. But a shadow-looking creature had taken Sophie's appearance to confuse them. They were already too late that day... Stella felt her heart drop as she knew she had failed. She failed to protect Sophie but also to make her dreams come true. What had she missed?

"We were too late... the person we thought was Sophie wasn't Sophie..." Stella sighed. The others exchanged confused looks. "I had a vision. Probably why I zoned out. I saw like a shadow take Sophie's appearance and call out to me."

"Do you mean like a double? Like a spy?" Bloom suddenly asked. Stella saw her best friend's eyes widened. She knew that look, something bothered her.

"Sort of..." Stella answered shortly. "But I don't know for sure."

"Then we have to find that 'shadow-Sophie' and stop her," Musa said.

"I agree," Flora answered.

"I'll help you," Bloom said with a determined voice. "Let's look first at the Fashion School for Sophie tomorrow. And we can maybe also find another talent as well who we have to protect."

Stella did not complain. Bloom seemed to always have good plans when she ever took the lead. A born leader. Like Aisha whenever Bloom was absent from the group. Sometimes Stella wondered how they could lead a group so well, make it work. Because, she wondered how she would ever rule Solaria one day when her father has passed away. For sure she knew Brandon would always be there to support her. But after all, neither of them really liked being in the lead. Attention and being loved by others was one thing... but ruling and being in the center of attention in that type of scenario made Stella feel uncomfortable. 'All this politicking...' she thought for herself.

"Let's get some rest and refill our energy for tomorrow's mission," Tecna suggested. Everyone nodded and took a moment to relax and play some card games before going to bed.

***

Stella looked out the window, finding it hard to sleep. The moonlight illuminated the night sky. While staring at her own reflection in the window, she talked to Brandon through her phone.

"Hello, Princess. How are you?" he asked with his usual sweet voice.

"Could do better," she sighed heavily. Brandon was quiet, but she knew he was listening. Since the first day they met, she knew he was the right guy, that she was over the moon for him. But something she had denied was how he and Sky had switched places and lied. Despite her lying herself sometimes, those lies were white lies. But lying about a status or identity is something else. Sometimes she wondered what more secrets Brandon kept from her. Which reminded her of Sky. He had gone under the radar for such a long time since he and Bloom took some distance from each other. And now Stella started to feel a little bit bad for not talking about it with Bloom. "How's Sky?"

Brandon was quiet. Stella could hear a weak sigh leaving his mouth before he spoke, "I haven't really talked to him either."

Stella wanted to trust Brandon. But there was something about his answer and voice that made her suspect he was, in fact, hiding something. Before she could ask any further, someone in the background talked with Brandon.

"Um, Stel. Your father wants to talk to you," he then said.

"Oh... o-okay..." She was not ready for her father wanting to talk to her. He is usually asleep during this time. His voice sounded tired like he hasn't slept for a while.

"Hello, my little star," he said.

"Oh hi, dad."

"Oh, Stella... I miss you so much. The palace hasn't shone as bright when you are here," her father said. "When are you coming home?"

"I do not know..." she answered shortly. Maybe she knew, though? Having been on Earth had made her realize how it's good to take a break from Solaria. Even though she has had some outbreaks, they have been necessary. Right now, she was not in the mood for talking to her father.

"Too bad. You know... maybe it's better if you leave the mission to the rest of the Winx and help me and Brandon in Solaria?"

"Dad...?"

"We have an important meeting with some high-status people from Solaria, and they would love to see you..."

"...dad."

"...they have offered us to open and inaugurate their newest store, and they have told me they would love the Crown Princess of Solaria to be their new face and model for their jewelry-brand..."

"Dad!" He paused, and Stella could hear him get surprised. "Right now I don't have the energy to talk about all my duties and ruling Solaria. I have a mission on Earth and have to complete it before I can focus on anything else!"

Her father scoffed. His voice deepened, and his tone turned harsh, "You sound just like your mother..."

Stella's heart dropped as she heard her father talk about her mother. That sounding like her mother was something bad. Tears built up in the corner of her eyes, but she tried to keep them to herself, not letting her father hear her getting hurt by his comment. She knew, every time she showed her emotional side to her father, he would always complain about her being as 'emotional as her mother used to be'.

Taking a deep breath, she collected her feelings and said her last words before ending the call, "I have to go now."

She wondered if Brandon only picked up because her father wanted to talk to her. He hasn't been very available to phone her, only by text.

As she was about to lay down her phone and close the curtains for the window, she saw something lingering in the dark. A dark figure, with a red scarf and a long white dress. Stella rose from her seat and tiptoed on her high heels, trying to maintain her balance and avoid making noise to wake up the other girls. She reached for the door and went out. The cold air made her shiver, and she used her sunlight powers to illuminate the darkness. The dark figure, with the red scarf, transformed into a shadow figure. Stella prepared for the worst, her pulse rising, ready to use her sunlight powers to protect herself. But it never attacked; it seemed scared of the light and hid in the darkest area. Stella took a few steps closer and met its cold dark blue eyes, like the creature from her vision, the one that had shifted forms to resemble Sophie.

"Find me..." it whispered. A cold wind swept through the air, and the creature had a wicked smile, sharp teeth visible, making Stella back off. Small shadows from nearby barrels shaped into letters, forming a message: "The fashion week tomorrow. Find me." Stella pointed her Winx watch towards the message and took a photo. A blinding flash from the camera made the shadow creature cover its eyes and disappear back into the dark.

Stella heard her own breath in the quiet place, the wind blowing, and the distant traffic sounds from the city center. Everything felt empty and lonely. She stood in the dark, with only the moonlight illuminating some places. Suddenly, she felt a cold hand on her shoulder. Her hands instantly heated up, conjuring two heated suns ready to attack. She turned around and saw a dark figure behind her. She was about to scream in surprise when she realized who it was.

"Please, if you're going to burn me, at least do it when we're on vacation..."

"The shades, Musa... you scared me," Stella said, lowering her hands. Musa held her hands in the air, looking tense.

"Maybe next time don't leave the Winx Mobile without telling us? I thought we had a burglary," Musa replied, crossing her arms. "You know, I have good hearing, and I'm very sensitive to suspicious noises at night."

"Sorry, sorry... I was just," she stopped herself from sharing details about her call with her father. "I saw that creature from my vision. It sent us a message," Stella told Musa as she displayed the photo.

"Hmm... Interesting," Musa hummed to herself. "But let's talk about this tomorrow with the rest of the girls. For now, I think you need some rest. Your inner voice tells me you've gotten upset over something."

Stella was about to protest when Musa read her emotions with her powers when Tecna stood by the door to the Winx Mobile with a flashlight in her hand. Bags under her eyes indicated she must be as tired as Stella was.

"Hey... why are you two awake?" she asked in a low voice.

"Um... we are coming," Stella answered, realizing it would probably be good to get some sleep.

***