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

Chapter 14: A Chef's Dream

All the recent whispers had made Bloom feel on edge. Each night, sleep eluded her, and since the last fight, a growing negativity had taken root within her. Tecna explained it was normal when one didn't sleep well, a fact Bloom was well aware of. Yet, this strange, familiar negative feeling troubled her, and she couldn't quite place where she had encountered it before. Her thoughts were interrupted by Stella's voice.

"No worries, Bloom. Roxy will take your place..."

Bloom hadn't told Stella yet. Despite being part of a TV show, she despised being in the spotlight even more. Getting kicked from the program wasn't a big deal to her. In fact, being removed was probably a better option than dealing with Stella's reaction.

"Then I can search for the Watch in Annabelle's apartment," Bloom replied.

"Not alone. What if you get attacked by those shadow creatures? Or the crocodile man?" Stella shook her head. "Or even worse... the talent thief?!"

"I'll call for support," Bloom shrugged. Their new opponents were undoubtedly strong, but she had faced much stronger adversaries. The sooner they found that watch, the faster they could enter the World of Dreams and defeat the talent thief. He was probably like Darkar, hiding and sending minions to do his dirty work. Typical villains, using others to do the bare minimum. "But I think I can handle the situation by myself."

Stella scoffed, "Oh my... now you're back to your impulsive side again."

Rolling her eyes, Bloom felt a slight irritation rising within her. She had grown and learned from her mistakes: not to engage opponents when at a disadvantage, not to unleash all her powers in a fit of rage. What more could she do?

Stella furrowed her brow and bit her lip. "I still think it's a bad idea for you to go alone.""You know, I'm the leader anyway and can leave whenever I want to... I don't have to listen to you," Bloom snapped.

"Excuse you?" Stella looked offended and rose from her sitting position. "You might be the leader of the group, but that doesn't give you the right to think you can treat us however you want. We are a team."

"Whatever," Bloom mumbled and rose from her bed.

***

Tecna could hear the heated exchange between Bloom and Stella from their bedroom, an unusual level of emotion permeating the air. Even for her, who typically couldn't always sense such feelings, it was palpable. The atmosphere had become strained, and everyone seemed a bit on edge, occasionally snapping at each other.

Was this a deliberate strategy by their opponents, aiming to break down their team and then pick them off one by one? Tecna pondered this as she analyzed their situation, trying to discern the next move from their adversaries. It felt as if they were constantly being watched, with information coming their way too swiftly whenever they embarked on the next mission.

Scrolling through different TV channels on the large screen, Tecna noted that Ace was a minute and thirty-seven seconds late. The program should have started by now.

In the kitchen, Roxy and Flora were making smoothies, while Musa and Aisha sat at the table, engrossed in music.

Suddenly, Bloom stormed out of her room, wearing an annoyed expression, followed closely by Stella. Both seemed tense. Bloom grabbed a blue backpack and headed towards the apartment's door just as the doorbell rang. Everyone's attention shifted to the brown door.

"The doorbell?" Flora questioned.

Bloom exchanged confused glances with everyone before reaching for the golden handle.

"What if it is..." Stella whispered, assuming a fighting position.

The door swung open, knocking Bloom to the ground. The camera drones shifted toward the entrance, revealing a person with a pink hood. Tecna wasn't sure if it was the light, but the person seemed to have a peculiar smile, almost like a smirk.

Tecna rushed over to help Bloom up as the person entered slowly, everyone's eyes locked on them.

"W-Who are you?" Roxy asked as the person approached the kitchen counter. Tecna noticed the blonde hair peeking out from the hood. The camera drones continued to follow this person, who was now humming brightly.

Stella signaled with her hands, asking if they should take the person down. Tecna shook her head, sensing that this might be part of the program. The camera drones wouldn't have activated just because the doorbell rang if it weren't.

The person turned around and removed their hood, revealing a girl with big, curly blonde hair, a small pink bow, pink lipstick, and large blue eyes. There was something about her that reminded Tecna of Stella, but in a human version. The girl wore a pink belly shirt with a light gray skirt and gray stockings in pink high heels.

"What is that fashion?" Stella commented, looking like she had witnessed a disaster, her eyes wide open and mouth hanging open. Tecna rolled her eyes and facepalmed.

"Welcome, Lorelei!" Ace exclaimed from the camera drones.

The girl struck poses in front of the cameras, blinking and smiling more dramatically and exaggeratedly than Stella. Tecna sensed a Stella 2.0 in the making.

"Yeah... It's me! Lorelei," she winked again at the camera. Tecna noticed how Stella cringed and looked embarrassed. "I cannot wait to start the show."

"Why is she in our apartment?" Aisha whispered to Musa.

"I know, right? How did she even find our address?" Musa replied.

"We are so glad to introduce you to Lorelei, who will be our new talent scout and join our beloved Winx," Ace continued.

"And here are my favorite pals! I'm so glad that you girls have welcomed me to your group," Lorelei exclaimed.

Tecna was on the verge of commenting when Lorelei hugged her tightly, almost crushing her ribs. According to her analysis and databases, this girl could not only cause trouble for their missions but was also a questionable choice for the program.

"Alright... but no one said that you can join our group," Bloom protested, separating Lorelei from Tecna. Lorelei turned to Bloom with an observing look.

"And who are you now again?" Lorelei asked suspiciously.

"Guess..." Bloom replied shortly with a blank face.

"Oh, now I remember... you are that cake-girl from the Fashion week," Lorelei continued. "Too bad you are not important anymore."

Lorelei laughed and smirked, turning her back towards Bloom, who now had fury in her eyes. Her hands glowed orange, and it looked like she was about to strike. Stella noticed it and ran towards Bloom to calm her down. The camera drones were about to turn towards Bloom and Stella when Tecna used her tablet to control them, preventing the reveal of their magic.

"Stop channeling your magic," Stella whispered to Bloom, holding her hands as smoke almost left her palms. Bloom did not listen. She struggled out from Stella's grip and used her finger to shoot out a small fireball, hitting Lorelei's skirt and leaving a black burned spot. Tecna could tell by Stella's facial expression that she almost burst out in laughter. Bloom had crossed her arms and looked bored.

"Alright... time for our talent scouts to find that new talent," Ace said.

Lorelei danced across the floor and turned to the cameras. "And I know the right place to go... we should go to..."

"...to Gardenia's Botanical Garden," Flora finished without hesitation.

Lorelei stopped in her dance step and fell to the floor with a thud. Everyone shook their heads, already tired of this new talent scout who would not probably leave them for a while.

"Hmm... good luck with surviving with this updated version of you," Bloom said playfully as she nudged Stella in the side.

"...is this how people see me?" Stella sighed and hung her head. All of the Winx laughed lightly.

***

Bloom watched as the Winx mobile left. Now she could finally focus on the mission by herself, without any cameras following her or a boss who only causes trouble. The heat had started to come in Italy, something relaxing.

Walking through the streets, she felt eyes on her wherever she went, as if being followed. For each second, she turned around and scanned her surroundings, but no one was there. Was it only in her mind?

Suddenly, a voice made her jump. As she turned around to face whoever was in front of her, her hands heated up, ready to defend herself.

"Wow... you are hotter than I imagined you..."

There he stood, Andy. Same old Andy. Trying to pull a joke? Or trying to flirt? Bloom only rolled her eyes and felt like she was not in the mood for talking. It was already too overwhelming having her best friend always be so overprotective. Ever since they came to Earth, Stella treated her as if these shadow creatures were as strong as Darkar's shadow creatures or even Valtor. But no, these were way too easy. The only problem is that her team, as Stella called them, is too weak. Bloom thought she surely could manage to do this in one swoop and defeat this talent thief with no problem.

Now she realized she had only been staring out into the void. Andy had been calling her name for a while. She blinked and shook her head. What were those thoughts? Of course, they had to work together as a team. Stella's right.

"Um... If you thought I was joking... or flirting," Andy paused. "No wait... I don't know why I said that. What I mean is I really meant it. You are hot and it's like you are radiating heat."

'Radiating? Sound like something Stella would do. Probably just Andy not being smart. Fire doesn't radiate heat...' Bloom thought and realized her hands had been heated up. She panicked and stopped channeling her powers and waving her hands in the air. Now feeling more awkward than ever, with passersby staring at her with a confusing look.

"Yeah... I mean... it is hot here in May, in Italy," Bloom said as she cleared her throat.

"That's true," Andy answered and smiled.

They now just stood there and looked at each other. When Bloom suddenly saw a woman with short light-golden brown hair, wearing a pink jacket, gray tight jeans, brown high heels, and a pair of sunglasses, watching her from a corner of the building. Like she was watching and keeping an eye on her.

"So I know you don't like me anymore... but could we perhaps start over again? As friends?" Andy asked. He was very straightforward with his question. If it had not been for the woman watching her, Bloom would have looked into Andy's eyes and told him, 'I don't think I am ready.' But what came out of her mouth was something else.

"Yeah, cool."

She patted his shoulder without looking him in the eyes. The woman now turned her back and stared into the window nearby. Bloom got a weird feeling that this woman was following her. And she's going to gather more info on who this woman works for.

"So yeah..." Andy started. Bloom turned around, walking in the opposite direction from the woman. Andy was about to finish his sentence when Bloom interrupted him.

"Sorry, I have to go!"

Before she walked around the corner, she shot a glance over her shoulder, seeing Andy's head drop and look somewhat disappointed. But she also noticed how the woman was gone.

***

Lorelei sang and sang. Her singing vocals sounded even worse than a hoarse bird in winter. Musa sighed to herself and held her head in pain and exhaustion. 'Who decided to hire this annoying Stella 2.0?' She already sometimes struggled to survive the Princess of Solaria's nonsense. But Lorelei was on a whole new level. At least Stella could sing and had a sense of humor.

"Are we there yet?" Stella groaned, looking even more annoyed than Tecna, who had been playing on her tablet the whole trip. Even Flora, who was the nicest and most welcoming of them all, had almost lost her hope and kindness for this new 'talent scout'. What was even Lorelei's talent?

Musa saw Lorelei now approach Aisha and Roxy in the front, by the driving seat. She felt someone nudge her arm lightly. She turned her head and saw Stella leaning closer towards her.

"Please. Can't you make her stop talking? Like using your powers to make her lose her ability to talk?" Stella whispered.

"Hm.... It could work if..." Musa stopped herself as she saw Flora shoot her typical 'do not be stupid' look. And everyone knew in the club, no one wants to upset Flora. Or start a fight. She would always win. Except when it came to Stella. And Lorelei in this occasion.

"What if I blind her then, so that she has to leave the show and..." Stella tried but stopped as Flora slapped her arm. She yelped in surprise and rubbed her arm. "Okay okay...I was just kidding."

Lorelei burst out in song again, hanging one of her arms around Roxy's shoulder, "Now can we sing together like we always dreamed. I'm going to meet my first tale-e-e-e-nt." Aisha shook her head and looked ready to throw Lorelei off the Winx mobile.

"If only Ace hadn't kicked Bloom." Stella muttered under her breath.

"But, this makes it easier for us to stop the talent thief..." Flora inquired trying to stay positive.

"And she doesn't seem to mind either anyways," Musa added. She heard Stella sigh. Stella looked like she was thinking of something, being in her own thoughts.

From the driver seat, Musa heard how Lorelei kept asking Aisha if she could drive. Then she turned on the stereos at the loudest volume. Everyone covered their ears. Musa snapped her fingers to stop the music. Aisha drifted with the Winx mobile so that Lorelei tripped backward and fell onto the floor with a thud.

"And we are finally here... Gardenia's Botanical Garden." Flora said as she let out a relieving sigh.

***

Bloom went into a dark dead end, snapping her fingers and switching into her spy suit. She climbed a metal ladder, each step clicking with her high heels. Then she jumped up to the edge of a metal balcony and hid behind a ledge on the wall, leaning toward the brick surface, feeling its coldness, and looked down, trying to see if the woman had followed her. Soon enough, the woman was coming at a running speed.

Summoning a fireball in her hand, Bloom stood ready to strike in case the possible shadow creature transformed in the dark, standing in the casted shadows from the buildings.

"Gómez, have you seen the girls?"