Chapter Text
Bloom woke up, feeling happy but mostly relieved. It was quite early in the morning. She and the Winx had defeated Tritannus and were victorious in saving the magic dimension for like the…fifth time again? More importantly to her heart, she had earned her Sirenix wish and had broken the curse which freed Daphne. Finally, they were a whole family again. She let the thoughts sink in as she sat up on her bed in the palace of Domino. She arrived here yesterday with her sister to deliver the great news to her parents. Of course, they were immensely overjoyed. Queen Marion had started crying while King Oritel remained speechless, staring at his firstborn daughter’s completely now-corporeal form. Last night was the first night in a long time that all four royal members of the family slept in the palace.
It seemed, however, that whenever things were good the next second evil was yet to come. But no. Not this time. Bloom was determined to make sure that nothing–nobody would even think to get in the way of her and her family.
She would make sure of it.
Daphne heard a knock.
“Hey Bloom!” she said when she saw her sister at her door. Right from when she was born, Daphne knew that Bloom would grow up to resemble her mother Marion, but she never knew just how much of a splitting image her sister would look like. Except for her eyes, Bloom seemed to inherit everything from her mom–the silky auburn hair, kind smile, and effect that made the whole room seem to warm up (well, that last one was definitely part of more than just her looks).
“Hey Daphne, may I come in?” Bloom asked politely, wanting to give her sister the respect and privacy she needed.
“Of course!” Daphne began to stand up from her large, pastel-colored bed.
“Oh, careful you could–”
She fell. Bloom rushed to her side.
“You know if you waited for literally a few more seconds I could have helped you,” she said disappointingly.
“That’s alright. I might as well get used to it. I think it’ll be a while before I’ll be able to move around normally again.”
Bloom thought for a moment. “No, you’re going to get better much sooner and I will help you. I know I’ve never gotten to spend much time with you but now that I can, I’m going to make sure you’ll be able to function corporeally very soon.”
Daphne stared into her sister’s blue eyes. “Bloom, that sounds like something I should be telling you. I’m your older sister. I should be the one protecting you.”
“Well, right now you can’t. Can’t we accept a switch in roles for once?” Bloom said with a small smile. She gently put her arm around Daphne’s waist and helped her up back to her bed.
“Thanks, Bloom. I don’t know what I would have done if I didn’t have you with me,” she said as both sisters hugged each other.
Another knock.
“I hope I’m not interrupting anything.” said a cool, deep voice.
“Dad!”
“Father!”
At the door stood King Oritel. As usual, he looked like he was ready for important royal business. He was wearing his normal red and grey suit with a bright golden mantle on his back.
“Hello, girls. I hope you both had a good night’s sleep. I wanted to personally deliver some exciting news. The people of Domino are thrilled to hear that their crown princess has returned. With that, I have begun arranging for a welcome party later this evening for Daphne.”
Bloom’s expression changed to a wide smile. “That’s awesome news! You must be excited, Daphne!”
But Daphne’s expression didn’t change.
“Is everything alright, dear?” Oritel asked, staring at his eldest.
“Oh no,” Daphne said, realizing the attention was all on her. “I mean, yes! Everything is fine. Oh wow, a ceremony–today. Sounds wonderful. I can’t wait,” she smiled.
Bloom continued to stare at her. At this point, she knew her sister well enough to know that she was bluffing her. Oritel may have sensed that something was off, but he didn’t seem too concerned.
“Very well,” he replied slowly. “I expect the two of you to be ready by this evening. The maids will assist, of course. Bloom, you may invite your friends. I’ve just spoken to your mother and she seems to be very pleased with the news. There are more arrangements that have to be made, but I shall see you two girls a bit later,” the King calmly said.
“Of course, see you later Father,” Daphne said and Bloom waved goodbye to her birth dad.
Once she felt he was out of earshot, Bloom turned to her sister. “Look, I know you just got back. But when I say that you can share anything with me, I really mean it. Tell me, is there anything I need to know?”
Daphne stared back. There were things she wanted to tell her little sister, matters that her mind was bottling up. But should she?
“Trust me, I’m fine Bloom.”
Domino was powerful in all aspects–financially, resourcefully, and socially.
The planet itself was an extremely popular tourist destination and had only gotten more popular after the kingdom’s revival. The landscapes were flawless, brimming with the beauty of nature that sometimes even competed with those of Linphea. The palace was loud, filled with the bustling of people everywhere as royals, dukes and duchess, viscountesses, and other figures of nobility strolled through the magnificent scarlet and gold halls. They were most likely there for business with the Royal Court, but anyone could argue that they were there to merely admire the marvelous structure that they were in.
“Quit tugging at the curtains, Stella! We came here to help with the party, not play around,” said the voice of the princess of Andros.
“Okay, okay! They’re just so soft and gorgeous and different from the ones in my palace,” the Princess of Solaria wined.
“Guys, I think we should first try to find Bloom. She’ll probably know what to do next,” Musa suggested.
“That’s what we’ve been trying to do for the past 28 minutes and 42 seconds. The palace is enormous and we haven’t covered much distance either. At this rate, we may not find her until after the party begins,” Tecna explained, to which Musa made a very audible sigh.
“Okay, let's ask one of the guards. They’ll probably know what to do,” Flora decided. The Fairy of Nature walked to one of the nearest doors which had a tall guard in maroon armor standing in front.
“Um, excuse me. We’re here to see Princess Bloom.”
The guard looked down. “Hello miss, do you have an appointment?”
Musa, upon hearing his response, sighed and walked up to where the guard and Flora were.
“Listen, dude, we’re Bloom’s friends and if you don’t help us navigate this maze of a palace I’m going to show you how to make an appointment,” she said sternly.
The guard’s expression darkened. “Well then, you clearly don't understand, but I’d be more than happy to escort you out of the premise–”
“Flora? Musa?” called a soft voice from the hall.
“Oh, your majesty,” the girls bowed.
“My queen,” the guard said. “These girls are unauthorized to be here and were trying to contact the princess–”
“That would be enough, Harold,” Queen Marion said softly. “These are the princess’ best friends. They shall have access to see Bloom whenever they visit and I shall take them now.”
The guard looked down, looking as if he’d made a grave mistake. “I’m so sorry, my lady.”
“That’s alright, mistakes happen,” the queen made a smile. “Now if you’ll excuse me, please ensure all arrangements are taken care of for the ceremony tonight. I will be busy preparing in my chambers.”
“Of course, your majesty,” the guard responded, without looking back up.
The girls bowed down to her highness again before walking away with her.
“Thank you so much for that, your majesty. That guard was really giving us a hard time,” Stella said.
“Well, he was only doing his job. I can understand why he acted like that,” Flora said, shooting an expression to Stella.
“Whatever happened, it’s alright girls. Good thing I found you. Bloom is very excited to see you all here. Thank you so much for coming to Daphne’s ceremony,” Marion said in her kind voice. She was looking elegant as usual with her stunning hair in gentle curls and her long lime green regal dress.
“Of course, we know how happy Bloom is. We definitely wouldn’t want to miss it,” Aisha responded.
“OMG THAT DRESS IS SO PRETTY” Stella squealed super loudly.
“Stella, please! You’re going to cause us hearing loss. And that’s saying a lot coming from me,” Musa complained.
In front of the girls stood Daphne in her new dress that Stella had created. She wore a beautiful pastel turquoise dress with small ruffles. She wore matching gold and turquoise bracelets with a big golden necklace covering most of her neck. Her hair was out in delicate loose ringlets. She was stunning. When she smiled, even more.
“Daphne you look so beautiful!” Bloom said. She was so happy for her sister, so ready for the perfect evening ahead of them.
“And now ladies, time for us!” Stella announced. She wave her hand and the girls appeared in six magnificent dresses all with stunning mini wings at the backs.
“Wow Stella, you’ve really outdone yourself this time. I’m impressed.”
“Why thank you, Musa,” she replied and made a small curtsy as a joke to her friend.
“They are really beautiful,” Flora commented.
“Ready to head out, Winx?” Bloom called to the others.
“Ready,” they all said in unison.
They were ready. Nothing could stop them now and the inevitably charming evening ahead.