The Reflection of the Flames

It has been two weeks since Bloom last saw Valtor, and Faragonda was missing. It was not unexpected; everyone was aware of the fact that Valtor had a great chance of winning their fight. But still, people hoped that she might win. 'What if she's dead?' Everyone turned to Layla as if she said something illegal. 'Don't be ridiculous, Layla; you know how powerful she is. She's probably hiding and making a great plan to defeat him,' Stella answered. She was pretending to be hopeful since the first day, but everyone knew that she hadn't any hope too. 'Bloom,' she looked at her friend as Layla said her name. 'What are we gonna do now?' She swallowed. How could she say that she had no idea? She would be a disappointment. 'I'm gonna figure it out.' That was all she could say right now; the situation was just hopeless. She felt hopeless.

She was also confused about her last conversation with Valtor. 'There's no way I'm letting you waste your powers. We can fight as long as you want, but at the end of the day, you will come with me.' She shivered when she remembered his words. He had sounded so serious. She knew that he meant every word of it. How could she let him get away with those books? How could she have been that weak?

Her thoughts disappeared when she heard Sky. 'Do you mind if we join, girls?' Just hearing his voice made Bloom relax. She got up from her bed and jumped into his arms. 'I missed you so much,' she whispered into his neck. 'Okay, okay, spread now, you love birds. Sky, let go of my girl; you're gonna ruin her nails; I just made them!' Specialists got in the room and settled. Brandon kissed Stella's cheek and spoke. 'We got you food, chocolate, and lots of good movies. It's time to relax, girls.' Stella grabbed the snacks, and Layla spoke. 'But how did you guys get into Alfea? Does Griselda know about that?'

Sky chuckled. 'Let's say we have a special permit for specialists.' Then he added. 'She thought after everything that happened, you deserve a break. That's why she let us spend the night with you.' Bloom was grateful for her boyfriend; he always made her feel safe and special. She was lucky to have someone like him in her life. 'What are we going to watch?' Brandon chuckled at Tecna's question and answered. 'We thought about watching a rom-com; we all need to laugh a bit, I think.' Stella wrinkled her nose after his comment. 'Such a cheesy pick, but I will let it slide for this time.'

The movie was funny, but it wasn't very sufficient to ease Bloom's anxiety. The prince who was sitting with her the whole time and playing with her hair, however... That was sufficient, at least for a while. 'Can we go to the garden?' He said. 'I have something special to talk to you.' She approved him with her head, and they got up. She wondered about the topic. She had no clue. 'So my reception will happen very soon.' He cleared his throat and continued. 'I know that everything is difficult at the time and you're anxious and tired. But I really want to introduce you to my kingdom as the woman whom I'm gonna share the rest of my life with.'

She felt butterflies in her stomach; she felt like the stars falling out from the sky. She felt amazing; she felt guilty. She felt guilty because of him. Valtor. She felt guilty because she let him get too close with her; even if nothing has happened, she felt guilty. She didn't exactly know why, but she felt like she was not loyal with him. Because there was something, something she shared with him two weeks ago. Rage maybe, maybe power. She didn't know. Yet.

'Are you saying you're inviting me to your reception?' He denied. 'No, I'm inviting you to my reception as their future queen.' There were no words left; she could barely breathe. She felt her eyes watering. 'You are the love of my life, Bloom; you are my best friend. You are everything I ever wanted. I have no doubt about marrying you at some point. Will you be there as the love of my life?' She nodded with tears in her eyes. 'Yes, Sky, I would love to.'

The one thing that she was not aware of was the man who was watching them in Cloud Tower. He was furious. He was furious at her for accepting the offer. How dare she, how dare she deny their bond and run into this golden boy's arms. 'This action, your decision will have consequences,' he murmured to himself.

One side of the dragon flame, the guardian of the most powerful magic in the universe, was settling someone who is less than him. That was unacceptable. This clueless girl was making a great mistake. She was denying him.

***

'Are you serious?' Stella yelled; she was jumping in the middle of the room. 'That's not just an 'I love you' thing; that's a 'let's get married' thing!' She opened her eyes wide open and looked at her friend. 'You can't be serious!' Stella was reacting to this news very excitingly. 'Oh, believe me, babe, I am death serious.'

She opened her wardrobe and started looking around. 'We have to make you the perfect dress; this is a serious thing!' She took a blue fabric and started giving some shape. 'You're not gonna make her dress now, Stella.' She gave Musa a look and spoke. 'Of course not; I'm

not crazy, Musa.' Then she continued to give the fabric a shape. 'I'm gonna make everyone in this room a dress now.'

***

'Bloom, we have to leave!' Her friends were trying to get her out of the palace. 'No, I can't; I need an explanation. Sky would never do that to me!' She begged her friends to let her find Sky. He introduced Diaspro to his people as his fiancee. She was disappointed yet sure that something was wrong. He wasn't being himself. Stella grabbed her by her shoulders and shook her. 'No, listen to me, young lady, I get it. You need an explanation, and you are sad, but right now, you are throwing yourself into danger. I'm not gonna let you do that. I promise you I will make her explain everything, then I'm gonna burn his face with my magic, but right now, every soldier in this place is trying to kill us. Trying to kill you. We are going to Alfea, and that's it!' Stella used her new Enchantix powers to block the soldiers and got in the ship with Bloom.

She was furious; she wasn't hiding it either. 'I swear to the Sun, I'm gonna kill him. I will destroy him; he will wish to be dead.' She wiped away her best friend's eyes and sat down with her. 'Bloom, you are far way better than this; you are better than him. He isn't worthy of your love.' Everybody was silent; they didn't know what to say or how to act. How to act in front of a girl who got humiliated in front of hundreds of people by the love of her life?

She was sobbing. Because of her teary eyes, she couldn't see anything straight. She wasn't angry; she was just sad. There was pure sadness. 'I think I'm gonna visit earth for a while. I need some time off.' Stella nodded at her with understanding. 'You know you can always call me when you're bored, right?' Her voice was softer now; she was trying to make her feel better. 'I can't believe that I left Brandon there!' She yelled. Besides being angry at Sky, she was worried too. She was worried about her boyfriend's safety; she was worried about her best friend's wellbeing. 'Say hi to Mike and Vanessa for me, and tell Mike I prepared some earthy male clothes for his birthday; he will love them.' She said warmly and pretended like everything was fine.

'I will.'