｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ Octavia Siatra ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

Octavia

I limp as fast as I can to the greenhouse, worry consuming my every thought. What the hell happened, why was he in the stables in the first place. I know Riv likes to drink and party but this feels extreme, even for him. Aches and pains make themselves known and I really wish I had bothered to get the healing potion last night instead of just going straight to bed but I couldn't bear the thought of suffering one more lovesick expression filled second from Stella. Honestly the girl is smitten.

Hobbling through the doorway I groan in irritation at the stretch of jungle before me. Curse you stupid aesthetically pleasing fairies and your designs. I wonder if Riv was with the horses because he likes them. I know Sky mentioned he knew how to ride but he's not exactly one of those 'horse girls' like Bea and I we're as little kids.

"Are you sure it's not just some ridiculous excuse, because horse trampling feels quite random." A feminine voice murmurs.

Dowling, mistress, she's talking with Silva, Irene and Harvey.

Riven is sedated in one of the beds around the corner.

"Sky was too shocked to think of lying." Silva disagrees.

"What of the body?" A male voice asks, must be Harvey. "If they were out ther-"

"If Sky says they weren't out there, they weren't out there." Irene snaps.

"Your faith in them is admirable but they're teenage boys-"

"Irene is right." Silva interrupts Farrah, an edge to his voice. "Sky wouldn't lie."

"Fine, perhaps not." Dowling concedes. "But we still need to check the body and report it to the Solarian government."

"You mean report it to Princess Octavia." Harvey hums. "You do know she oversees all of the defence for Solaria. You might as well hand her the report."

"General Lýkos still gets them first and he carries out reconnaissance-"

"But he still takes orders from a child, is what Ben means." Farrah interrupts.

Rage boils in me. How dare they. Do they really think someone as smart and as cunning as my mother would have given me a position that I haven't earned. I know I have to prove myself constantly because of my age and gender but I expected better from someone like Dowling.

"Princess Octavia," A familar voice drawls, "Does an exceptional job at commanding the armed forces and monitoring the burned one situation, unlike you."

"Riven," Irene fusses and I can hear her move through the room. "Let me shift the pillows so you can sit up."

"Thanks Irene," Riv hums, clearly high on meds by his tone of voice.

"Loyalty to our friends is a quality I am always happy to see so I shall let your interr-"

"And what is the alternative, Miss Dowling?" Riv huffs in a childish way. "You are insulting a member of the royal family's ability to rule the realm. A realm Octavia has successfully protected for the last three years, since she was sixteen."

"Riven-" Silva goes to cut in but it appears my friend is on a roll.

"We were studying it in class, actually. Tomen was asking us to consider what had changed in the last three years that made the Solarian army so much more diverse in its recruits, why peace agreements were suddenly being agreed to, why the threat of witches was going down and why the murder and crime rate was going down too."

I love this guy. Fenriz hums, Bed bound and still fighting

"And yet you, a teacher and political figure, could not work out this basic logic for yourself which took me minutes to realise."

Silence, utter silence.

"Did you say a body?" Riv asks, completely chipper as he laughs in drug fueled delight. "On top of the one I had to stumble across? I thought your motto and selling point was that Alfea is safe?"

"Enough Riven." Silva snaps and I hear Riv grumble unintelligibly but comply.

Sky and the whole of the winx suite is here. Darkling reports. Sky's coming in with Terra and Stella now but it appears the other three didn't want to be left out so they're a few minutes behind.

Great, girl drama on top of this mess. I'll go through the burned one reports today, can't having Farrah giving me a bad reputation. Besides I have so many free periods on Thursdays that I only really have specialist training after classes.

"I'm going to get set up for training," Irene states, no doubt talking to her mate. "Will I see you out there?"

"I need to talk with Silva, it might take a while." Farrah answers politely and I turn the corner to see her give a small smile to Irene.

Irene who clearly has more patience than me because I would have taken that smile as Farrah condescending me and end up snapping at her.

Hide away. I whisper to the shadows who drift off me completely to flicker through the dark jungle. I feel a cool breeze around my ear and realise that one of them stayed. I can't help but smile at the thought.

I smile politely at Irene who walks past me with an irritated look that she quickly hides with a grin. "Riven is just through there." She nods her head to the open work space, they'll move him to the infirmary soon no doubt.

"Thanks." I murmur and carry on past.

Harvey is poking and prodding at Riven's back who appears to be sat up drinking some kind of potion.

It's an antidote for the sedative that was making him a little loopy. Harvey decided to free himself from suffering through Riven's commentary.

I snort and catch sight of Silva and Dowling talking in a huddle by one of the tables. They briefly glance up at me and I return Silva's smile of greeting while completely ignoring Dowling's shocked look at my presence.

"How are you doing." I ask, striding over to Riv's side while refusing to let my pain show.

"I got trampled by a horse, how do you think?" Riv asks incredulously with a grin but he's scarily pale and I can see his rant took a lot of strength out of him.

"Well I thought I'd be polite and ask." I state with a soft look and drag a nearby chair over to sit by his side swiping a healing potion on the side and downing it like a shot. "Sky's coming with Terra and Stella to patch you up."

"Ah." He murmurs tiredly. "The dream team."

I glanced in concern to Harvey who's completely engrossed in his work, I thought he was taking him off the drugs.

"Don't look so concerned." Riv trills, waving a tired hand at me till I clasp it and hold it down on the bed before resting mine beside his. "Ter and I were friends last year, she's pretty cool. Your sister on the other hand."

I giggle at his humorous tone seeping through the exhaustion. Riv begins to cough thickly and I grip the sheets tightly. Shit, that can't be good. Riv leans forward with the force of the cough and I wince in sympathy, sitting upright to catch him if he falls and feeling his hand graze mine

They're here.

"Dad?" I hear Terra call.

"Through here." Harvey answers, like there was anywhere else for him to be.

Relief allows me to sag back in my seat at the sight of Terra, Sky and Stella striding through the work benches. A gentle touch on my pinkie has me looking back to see Riv staring at me with a broken expression. I glance down at our touching hands and gently link our pinkies together before looking back up to give Riv a blush and slight smile. Warmth blossoms in my chest at his soft smile in response.

"Terra, I need you to work on the bone salves, bruise treatment and crush up some of the night blooms for a potion."

"On it." Terra quickly bustles away, rummaging through boxes and pulling out bunsen burners.

"Stella, how's that healing magic coming along?" Harvey asks but the question is rhetorical.

Sky grips Stella's hand, she turns to him and places a comforting hand on his arm.

"I can heal him, I know I can," She looks up at Sky, "let me do this."

There's a pause and then Sky nods, I give my twin an encouraging smile as she walks over to Riv's side. Sky and I help Riv twist over to lay on his front and Stella raises her hands over his back. I watch as sparkling dust appears to shimmer over him. When I settle back in my seat I see Riv flex his hand and I subtly reach forward to link our pinkies again, smiling when he stops fidgeting.

"I'm going to essentially do a scan first, to see what the damage is and then I'll go in fix it."

My sister's voice is confident and strong and I can't help the small kernel of pride that blossoms in my chest. Stella stands straight and stares straight ahead, her eyes unseeing as they begin to glow.

There's long minutes of silence with the only movement being Stella shifting her head as she looks at the internal injuries through her magic's eye. The dust dies away and Stella presses her hands lightly against Riven's side, her hands are wreathed in glowing ribbons of light and I watch as Riv's veins begin to light up with a similar power.

"Okay, I'm going to begin but two of the ribs need resetting, so it's going to hurt... a lot." Stel inform Riv who nods nervously into the pillow. "Professor Harvey can-"

"Yep, which bone-"

The two continue to talk bones and setting but my attention is captured by the sound of concerned chatter and I turn to see the winx girls having a heated conversation with Silva who stands as a barricade between them and us. I quickly give Riven's hand a quick squeeze and gently go to place it down but he grips tighter.

"Where are you going?" Riv's voice is panicked and Stel and Harvey briefly stop their conversation to look at me but I wave them off. I stand and move to stand by Riven's head and crouch down so I can look him in the eye.

"I need to go sort some unruly guests out and then I've got the rest of the day free to keep you company." I murmur, my eyes watering with worry at seeing the pain in Riv's eyes.

"Promise." He whispers, voice so vulnerable and broken that I eagerly nod.

"I'll tell you all the gossip from last night's ball." I joke and smile when he grins at me.

"Sod the gossip, I want the whiskey you promised me." I grin and place a quick kiss on his cheek before standing.

Sky moves towards me, quickly picking up Riv's hand and mutters a hey bro before turning to look at me in curiosity. I tilt my head towards the girls and see Sky's jaw clench with irritation. "I'll sort it" I whisper, stepping into Sky's space to look up at him from under my lashes.

Sky looks down at me, eyes blazing with irritation as his jaw continues to ripple with rage. I bring a hand up to softly touch his arm, trust me I plead. Begging him to see the request in my eyes, we're so close that I can feel the heat of his body against mine and I can't help the shudder that goes through me in response. Sky's mouth twitches and I see his eyes light up with different heat but he merely places a kiss on my forehead and looks down at me with adoration before giving me a nod. I smile and turn back to observe the winx suit.

Terra must have gone back to the girls to complete her work because I see they've all crowded around the table she's working at.

Is there a screen I can hid him behind. I ask, a feeling of protectiveness flaring until it consumes my every thought. I hate this. I hate that they can see Riven when he's so vulnerable, when he's scared. It's not right. They're not us. They're not apart of this.

Beneath the table to your left.

I move quickly dragging the concertina folded screen and propping it upright on its wheeled feet before dragging it over to Riven and opening it up till it covers the girls' view. The sound of loud chatter has me turning around as I quickly stride forward, stalking towards them through the tables.

They're distraction Stella

Unacceptable. They need to leave. Now.

"Ladies, I told you before. This is a private matter-" Silva says.

"What's going on?" I ask, with false sympathy that has Musa straightening. Rage and disbelief fills me, can't she - a mind fairy - understand and feel how scared and vulnerable he feels, how Stella is struggling to concentrate because of their antics. "Is everything okay? Stella got distracted by the noise and was worried something had happened."

Guilt trip you selfish bitches.

I smile politely at Silva, nodding to say I have this handle allowing him to walk off. I hear him call to Sky that he's off to go make sure Irene doesn't castrate anyone during morning practice.

As I look at the winx girls, including Terra, and see the way they all try to get a glimpse at Riven that familiar claiming feeling creeps over me, Riven is mine. He is my friend and has kept me safe many times, Helios he nearly died in the Maahes incident, it's my turn to keep him safe.

"We were just worried about Riven." Musa states, clearly sensing my mood. "We should get going or we won't be changed in time for breakfast."

"What about-" Musa cuts Aisha off with a sharp shake of her head and a glance in my direction. "Yeah, you're right. Bloom?"

Thank you Aisha and Musa, for being reasonable for once.

"I just wanted to ask-"

A scream of pure pain has me whipping around and racing back to Riven.

"Riv, Riv?" Sky and I call, both of us huddling by his head.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. Just shocked me," Riv pants, his voice exhausted and body drained.

"We need to reset the other bone." Stella states.

I have never wanted my own twin dead so much in my life. Hatred, vicious and cruel fills me and I stare at Harvey, watching the way his hands go to press on Riven's body. I distantly hear Musa muttering some sort of curse and command to leave but my attention is wholly fixated on the professor's movement. If he moves, I'm going to kill him.

Adrenaline pumps through me and I feel my hands clench around twin daggers formed of solid shadows of my own making. A snarl rumbles beside me and I realise that Sky is in a similar state to me. Brilliant, the two of them can't hurt Riven if both Sky and I are here. Sky can tackle Harvey and I'll kill my sister.

Harvey's hands go to slam down but Sky lunges forward and grips his wrists. "Octavia!"Musa screams. My attention snaps over to the mind fairy, still hidden from view but her voice echoes through the room with enough power that I jolt.

What-, what just. Bloody hell- I look at my sister whose concentration has been lost along with Harvey's who's now staring in Musa's direction instead of a shocked Sky who has already released our professor and has chosen to sink back down beside Riv.

"It's alright." I say to Stella and Harvey, shaking as I realise what I was about to do. "I'll handle this, you continue."

I stride hastily away, eager to escape before I try to attack them again for helping my friend. When I step out of the divider only Terra and Musa remain. Musa, who is staring at me with such a raw expression that my heart clenches and Terra... Ankáthi's gaze is so serious and concerned as she looks between Musa and I.

"I thought you could join me in getting breakfast early." Musa states, the question is more of a command. "I like to avoid the crowds."

"That would be nice." I respond, my voice switching to that silky smooth drawl of royalty. "Tell Sky to text me if anything changes Ankáthi."

Terra nods to me, a forced smile on her face. "Of course."

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

"What was that, then?" Musa asks as she munches on a bacon sandwich opposite me in the cafeteria.

"I don't know." I answer honestly. "I've felt that kind of rage before but it's never happened like that."

Musa hums and I take her silence as a chance to nervously eat my waffles with chocolate drizzle and strawberry. My mental shields are up tightly and I have already apologised profusely to Musa for forcing her to go through my emotions on top of the others. The Shadows hum around me, they've gone silent, clearly understanding that I'm already overwhelmed. I watch Musa eye them in curiosity.

"They're what you felt during the orientation party," Musa looks at me in shocked confusion, "You asked why I felt like more than one person, they mirror, feel and reflect information, feelings, secrets."

I lift up a hand with a shadow swirling around my hand and clothed wrist, they really love those scars. I don't but whatever suits them.

"How- How do you have those?" Musa questions and I quickly hide the shadow away not wanting to risk them being visible for too long.

"They were attracted to my light power when I was child, they weren't corporeal then, they were bound to preexisting shadows. As my powers grew I allowed them to feed off it and make themselves into these wisps."

Musa finishes the last of her sandwich. "They're cool."

"Cool?" I bubble into laughter. "Most find them terrifying."

"Eh." Musa dismisses with a grin. "I've felt them, they're more like caring, gossiping housewives."

I grin at Musa, happy to have a friend who didn't even question the shadows just accepted them. Musa grins back at me but her smile drops to a more serious expression but the warmth remains.

"I felt the darkness around them, and felt how overwhelming they were. I know how overwhelming power can be so if you ever want to talk, I'm here."

I smile, nodding. "And I extend the offer to you."

She scoffs and rolls her eyes at me. "Ever the princess."

"What did you tell-"

"I told them to stop being so nosy and to mind their own business and then sent back to the suite."

I grin and carry on eating my waffles, while Musa tells me the latest mating pairs and trios. Perks of being a mind fairy and shadow whisperer duo, we have awesome gossip. I know she's trying to take my mind off of Riven and I can't help but smile fondly at her ever time my thoughts drift and she brings me back. She's getting better at reading me without access to my emotions and just doing it the old fashioned way. I should be alarmed by this, all of Drea's training says I should be alarmed by this, but I'm not. She's a friends, my first female friend in a while.

"So Isabella, Bloom's mentor right,-"

"Yep." Musa confirms with a grin as she steal as strawberry from my plate.

I swat her hand but let her take it with a grin. "- has found her mate. But nobody knows who it is?"

"Exactly, so now I'm thinking they're not working out, or they want to keep it private-"

My phone pings and I quickly glance down, seeing Sky's name flash on the screen. I look at Musa in worry.

"He'll be fine." She reassures, reaching forward to grip my hand.

𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠

𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲'𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝.

𝐑𝐢𝐯 𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐈 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐭 𝟖.𝟑𝟎 𝐬𝐨 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐈 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧?

𝚂𝚑𝚊𝚍𝚘𝚠 𝚀𝚞𝚎𝚎𝚗

𝙸'𝚕𝚕 𝚋𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚋𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚔𝚏𝚊𝚜𝚝 𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗.

𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚠𝚎 𝚍𝚘 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚊𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚌𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚜 𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐?

Prince Charming

I'll sort something out with Silva

"All good?" Musa ask, face filled with concern.

"Yeah, yeah." I nod, finally relaxing and scoffing the rest of my waffle and grabbing my phone. "I'm going to grab Riven some food and then I'll head down to the greenhouse. What about you?"

Musa checks her phone as she stands . "I've gotta be in class for the first period so I'll head up to the suite to grab my books."

"Cool, I'll see you at some point, yeah." I ask, walking backwards away from the table in the direction of the breakfast buffet.

"Of course." Musa grins, walking towards the doors. "You can't get rid of me now."