Winx Club: Dark Magic (Season 4)

XXIX: The Harsh Reality

"Any luck yet?" 

Gantlos sighed, rising to his feet from where he'd been kneeling on the cold stone and trying to maintain a telepathic link with Ogron. "No," was his simple reply to the fairy who waited at the threshold of the fortress' inner sanctuary. 

The fairy stayed standing where she was, quiet and patient, observing Gantlos as he went to grab his hat from the corner of the room. The girl, Gantlos had noted over the past two days he'd been left alone with her, was a collection of silent ponderance and concentrated frustration, with momentary glimpses of conversational curiosity and naivety. For all the effort she evidently went through to put up a capable and unyielding exterior, she was far too young and inexperienced in this new world of magic to maintain that façade for more than twenty seconds into a training session. He formed the majority of his opinions on her in the hours after the difficulty of the day had sufficiently and totally whooped her, delivering a fatal blow to the toughened character she was trying to sell herself as. 

"Where are they?" the fairy inquired, breaking the silence. 

Gantlos fixed his hat on his head, not so much as glancing at his inquisitor. "Heading to Andros to meet an informant; seems Earth didn't have much in the way of intel." 

"They still don't know where the Winx are, or what they're after?" the fairy pressed. 

"No."

"But if they're not on Earth, and they're not here, then the Winx probably aren't looking for me."

"Right on." 

"I mean... I know I asked before, but is it possible that they're just doing something else entirely? I really only met them once, and just briefly. They could have moved on, right? Surely there are greater demons to slay than-"

"They sought you out for a reason," Gantlos stated, tired of revisiting the same questions she'd presented him with earlier that day, and yesterday, too. "For the same reason we didn't just let you be; your magic is too rare and potent to just forget about. They probably have just as many uses for you as we do; half the Magic Dimension does, I'll bet."

"Then why didn't Anagan and Ogron stay here to help us, if we're expecting others to come looking for me as well?"

Gantlos met the fairy's gaze with some impatience, this time. "Listen, fairy, we've been over this; the Winx are the only ones who know about you. For now. If we can find out what they know and either lead them astray or at least delay them, we might have enough time for you to get a hold of your powers and help us free Duman; then, we'll be strong enough to fend off anyone who comes looking. But in the meantime, the Winx are the most immediate threat to word of you getting out, and half the wizards and witches in the Dimension coming looking for you. Once we have Duman, we'll be able to take them all on, but not before then."

The fairy let out a loud exhale, walking to the other side of the doorway and slumping back against it. 

"Alright, well if you're so bored, we should start another lesson," Gantlos said, starting over to her. "No sense in letting your energy go to waste."

The fairy shrunk back a little, as though the Wizard's words had been a threat rather than a directive. Of course, Gantlos understood her hesitation and fear -every magic-user did- but most fairies and wizards had been forced to face them down in their early childhood, when their powers were weaker and easier to manage. Being a fully-grown woman with one of the greatest magic lineages in known history, the fairy's magic was providing daily beatings in all forms, and somewhat justifying her reaction to the suggestion of training. 

But just because he could sympathize with the fear didn't mean he had to have mercy; Gantlos had friends -brothers- counting on him yielding results with this fairy, and doing anything but demand progress and mastery in every waking moment might as well have been the equivalent of telling Duman to rot alone for the rest of eternity. If this fairy couldn't learn to utilize her powers in a helpful way to the Wizards, Duman would be lost, and they'd have to kill the fairy anyway, sympathy be damned. 

He reached the fairy and grabbed her arm, not breaking stride as he pulled her with him towards the exit. "Let's get started."