The Heiress - Winx Club Fanfiction

Chapter 2 - Dream And Agathodaemon

Five months later

I am in a forest, in the middle of winter. My feet leave light traces in the snow as I am heading towards the door of a dilapidated little hut. A sort of black smoke comes out of the chimney. I take a deep breath, taking my courage in both hands. It was too late now to retrace my steps.
The heavy silence reigning in the dead of night feels oppressive, only the icy wind could prove that the time hadn't been frozen.
Suddenly, out of the oppressive silence of the darkness, a distant voice seems to call my name.
"Eirlys...Eirlys...Eirlys...EIRLYS!"

I jump as I wake up at my table in science class, looking haggard. I look up and find myself face to face with my biology teacher.

"Slept well, miss?"

Some laughs burst out in the classroom.

"I wasn't asleep. Actually, I was reflecting about..."

I peek at the black board, in order to remind myself what today's lesson is about.

"...about the major components of the Universe. A fascinating topic, if ever there was one."

The other children laugh louder, while the teacher rolls his eyes in exasperation.

"That's it, no break time for you today. I will rather give you some exercises about plant reproduction." the teacher tells the class sternly.

The laughs instantly get replaced by exclamations of outrage, as my dear classmates give me death glares.
I smirk slightly in satisfaction. I don't care about that pointless little break time, I want to make them pay.
I want to make them pay for each humiliation that they had put me through since the beginning of the year. I want to make them pay for the regular 'mysterious' disappearances of my homeworks, I want to make them pay for every newspaper pages relating my mother's death during the Final Battle sticked on the walls of the corridors, I want to make them pay for the quotidian thefts of my belongings during break times.
I want to make them pay. All of them. Well, all of them except Leah and, surprisingly, James. They both were the only ones showing some respect for me around here. Yes, the red-haired boy doesn't take part anymore in the tricks that the others play on me, he even apologised to me when some of his friends put a bubble gum in my hair last week. He seems to have realised the seriousness of the bullying I am enduring.
As I remember the humiliation and the others laughing at me, I can feel a tear rolling down my cheek. I quickly wipe it away with my sleeve. I am a witch! I have to cope!

"As for you Eirlys, you're getting detention." the teacher tells me.

I won't try to negotiate, it is useless.
I sigh and wait patiently for the end of the class. I feel a crumpled paper ball hit my head, but I don't turn around. I am used to all of that by now.
Once the class is over, I rush out of the school to the edge of the woods which border our school. It is the only place where the others don't dare to come bother me.
I inhale the fresh air of this wintry day, as I feel the cold wind blow through my pale hair. The snow has fallen in abundance yesterday, making me finally feel at ease here. As I walk, I think about the strange dream I had earlier. The forest I was visiting in it does not seem familiar at all. I shrug. What's the point in trying to interpret a figment of my imagination? That's ridiculous.
Near the lake, I can see a group of boys having a snowball fight. It is important not to let them see me. Otherwise, I know for sure I would end up in the water. I start walking away when...

"Hey, guys! Look who's here!"

Darn it. As I turn around, I can see the boys running after me. I haven't got a choice: I have to take off into the woods. I start running, trying to lose them.
A few minutes later, I find a little alcove in a rocky knoll. I decide to hide there. As I wait for the boys to lose interest in finding me, I suddenly feel something brushing past me. I let out a shriek of surprise and fear before looking at the 'thing' that just touched me.
It was a cat. Some common grey and black spotted cat.