Category: Winx Club

Rating: M

Couples: Faragonda/Baltor, Winx/respective-Specialist, Griffin/Codatorta

Warnings: AU, (hints of) Character Death, hints of lemon and a BIG battle with all that it entails

Chapter: Prologue

Copyright: © characters and places by Iginio; © Plot and OC by me

Author's Note: And the Sequel for Forced Marriage 2 is here :D. Well, as you might recall I mentioned a time-skip. A BIG one… of about 10 years since the end of FM 2. So, obviously a lot happened. That's what this prologue is mostly about. Making this the longest chapter I EVER wrote (well, up until now that is…). It's three whole pages in Word! :O Sorry, had to throw that in here…

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

No matter how much he tried, he couldn't concentrate for one bit on his work. Laughter came from the street, again and again distracting the demon trying to work in the small office on the first floor. After a while Baltor simply couldn't take it anymore, put aside his sketches for the collier a wealthy woman had commissioned for her daughter's wedding and went outside into the boiling sun. Summer had been perfect this year and it was noticeable.

"Daddy!" Before he had even set a foot outside his house, Baltor was accosted by two young girls. Well, young technically speaking; their bodies looked like those of 8-years old, but their minds – courtesy of their demon-blood from their father – were over twice that age. This didn't stop them from acting according to their biological age even in private at times. In public they always had to, but they seemed to enjoy this.

"Okay, okay, get off of my feet, both of you." He pulled at the girl on his left leg.

"Daria, Darina, release your father." The girls' mother joined them, chuckling at the antics of her husband and children.

Laughing both of them took off, rejoining their friends playing on the street.

"Finally managed to tear yourself from work, beloved?" Faragonda asked.

"It's hard to concentrate when your children are having such fun outside." Baltor huffed, slinging his arm around her waist. "Besides, I can't leave you alone for too long when you're dressed like this." He pressed a kiss on her lips.

"Afraid I could get stolen?" She chuckled, watching the children run up and down the street playing tag.

"Always." He joined watching them, feeling warmth rising inside his chest as he watched his children.

Faragonda chuckled again as she saw the smile on his face. "I never would have believed you could be such a wonderful father."

"Holding a child changes a man, my Siren." He sighed happily. "They had me wrapped around their little fingers the moment they were born."

"And you couldn't mind one bit." She chuckled. "I just wish they could see Magix…"

It was a painful subject neither liked bringing up; they were still on Earth and no one in the Magical Dimension had had news of them since Faragonda had died. It was a subject that brought him guilt and her sadness. Even after almost ten years of perfect marriage, even after she had given him a wonderful set of twins, Faragonda still had an empty hole in her heart nothing could heal. She had found love with the demon that had initially taken her, joy in the raising of her two daughters and peace with that faithful decision so long ago and yet, something drew her to Magix still. Baltor knew this and it pained him that he could not help the woman he loved so dearly. Even the young twins, mirror images of their mother, save for their hair, which they had inherited from their father, and Daria's powers, which also were his, knew of the pain of their mother. Their parents had never made a secret of their past, even if it shamed Baltor to speak of a time where he had been out to hurt his Siren.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"I swear that I should have never given you the name I did." Griffin scolded her daughter gently. "You're a witch, not a fairy."

The very child she was scolding took no heed, knowing full well her mother would prefer to throw herself off of Cloudtower before changing anything about the upraising of her child. Even if that upraising had been more fairy-like than it should have been…

"What has she done this time?" Codatorta entered the room, laying his sword on the table.

"Brought home a sickly animal." Griffin glared at her daughter. "I swear she's trying to take after Flora."

The young girl grinned. "Blame the name…" She said, her favorite way of dealing with these situations. She had found that reminding her mother of her case of fairy-like behavior made her forgive her daughter far quicker.

Griffin groaned. "I probably should be glad Faragonda did not choose to be a spirit, she would let me live this down even less than you do, Fara. Now be off."

Fara, whose full name was Faragonda, ran off as swiftly as her little feet could carry her. Her parents clearly heard her giggle once she had left the room.

"Ah, the joy of taking after a fairy." Codatorta teased his wife. She growled in response, eliciting laughter from him.

"Why are you here anyway at this time of the day?" She huffed, turning to the small bunny still sitting innocently on the table.

"Word from Lightrock to Saladin; they want him to try and contact Alfea again." He looked out of the window to where the light-blue roofs were just visible over the tree-tops.

"It is useless." Griffin joined him. "Alfea is death, don't they see? For ten years she has neither rebonded nor answered our calls. She died alongside of Faragonda all those years ago."

"Apparently a magician swore he had sensed activity in her." Codatorta went to the table, picking up the small animal on it, petting its' fluffy head.

"I'm on my way." Griffin left the room. "Let's waste some more time on this."

Codatorta sighed. Even after ten years anything remotely reminding of Faragonda – the old one, not the young one – was a sore subject with both the Headteachers remaining. Not only because they had suffered a terrible decrease in power, courtesy of the Three Points of Magic being reduced to Two, but also because of the political consequences Alfea's lack of rebonding had caused.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"I just know you're simply doing this to spite me." Bloom said. "Why is it always MY kingdom where we have to release the kids?"

"Because your planet is the richest and hence, the one who can rebuild the fastest of all the planets we have access to." Riven stated matter-of-factly.

"Hey!" Ten young voices exclaimed in unison.

"Oh, shush." Flora told them. "You ten are trouble in person."

"Only the boys are." Luna huffed, showing she was her mother's child.

"Oh yeah?" Her older brother asked, looming over his little sister. "I'll show you trouble!"

In a few minutes the adults were alone in the courtyard, Luna having fled from her brother, the other daughters following to aid her and the other sons following to help him.

"Were we ever like that?" Layla asked no one in particular, chuckling as she looked at the antics of her son.

"You do not want us to answer that." Their parents were there too, waiting for the celebration that would welcome the third child of the princess of Sparx and the King of Eraklyon. "Now come."

"Why must there be such celebration whenever we get a child?" Bloom sighed.

"Let us, Bloom." Miriam chuckled warmly. "It has been so long since we could hold a little one."

"Yes, three years is far too long." The red-head muttered, following her mother.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Most people would be worried if they were floating in a literal void, but not Saladin and Griffin. Both were completely at ease in this darkness, even with the two massive spectral bodies towering over them. One was a middle-aged man in heavy armor and long hair, shining in a warm orange and standing behind Saladin. The other was an elder man who had 'evil sorcerer' written all over him, shining a deep purple and standing behind Griffin.

"This is foolishness." The younger man said, his voice sounding as if several others were speaking with him, resounding in the emptiness. "It is a waste of what little energy we have, Saladin."

"We no longer have the power to defy Lightrock, Red Fountain." The old Headmaster looked up. "Just call, the sooner we finish this, the sooner you can rest."

"As you wish." The purple man said, his voice much like that of Red Fountain. He snickered. "Alfea is death, no matter how often we call."

"Then call to the dead." Griffin said, glaring at the embodiment of Cloudtower.

He growled, before reaching to touch the other male. As both touched a deep rumble reverberated through the space, as if an earthquake had hit.

After a while they broke contact and the rumble ceased.

"I told you it was useless." Cloudtower said, but fell silent when a soft light came from the darkness. They had been answered!

"Greetings, my siblings." A young woman, kind and elegant, shone in a gentle pink. Much like her siblings, her voice too sounded as if several people ware speaking, but unlike her siblings, hers carried an echo as well. "You called?"

"For ten years!" The orange man exclaimed. "What is wrong with you, Alfea? Why do you only answer us now?"

"I was not ready…" The new image whispered, shrinking away from the outburst.

"Bloody hell, Alfea, do you have any idea what this did to us?" Cloudtower growled. "Ready or not, you should have rebonded years ago!"

Something akin to fury came into that face, Alfea hissing as she spoke. "I would have, had my chosen one been here. She was not, so I did not. None of us should grow desperate and give our power to the wrong person!"

"Then you should have told us that, we would have searched for your chosen one." Saladin called.

"You would not have found her." Alfea looked up. "She desired not to be found and so none would have found her. But my waiting has come to an end; by the end of this summer, I will be whole once more."

"It's about time." Griffin muttered.

"Alfea…" A dangerous undertone had come to Red Fountain's voice. "You are brimming with power, sister. Why are you brimming with power? Have you been hogging it?"

"Yes." The youngest of the three schools said. "But only my own share. I never touched your powers, and you ought to know that, brother."

"Leaves the question as to why you did." The other man glared at his sibling. "This amount of power will paralyze your chosen one for a month upon bonding."

"All of us know this power will be needed." Alfea said. "We all know what is stirring inside the darkness."

Unspoken agreement and heavy silence.

"It is hard for me to be here without an anchor." The pink woman flickered. "One last thing, Griffin…"

"Yes?" The Headmistress asked.

"For my new Headmistress to know, my old one must. When battle is due, call upon Faragonda and she will know who will be my new one." Alfea started to fade. "But only when battle is due! Not before and certainly not after, do you understand?"

"I do…" Griffin said after Alfea had faded from view. "Well, that was nice…"

"I merely wish she would have answered sooner." Red Fountain stared at the place his youngest sibling had been.

"I wish she would not ask this of Griffin." Cloudtower said with anger in his face. "She wants me to risk my Headmistress so she can have hers."

"I think we can be certain Faragonda won't try to posses me." Griffin looked up.

"Cloudtower is right though." Red Fountain looked at the Headmistress. "Faragonda is dangerous, child, and death will only have made that worse."

"I wish someone would tell us why she is that dangerous, rather than for ages tell us she is." Saladin looked at the two spectral images. "Why is she that dangerous?"

"Why was she sixteen when Alfea bonded with her?" Cloudtower said. "Why was the day you lost your wife such a bloody one? You do not want to know, boy, so cease asking."

In a flare of light he and Red Fountain disappeared, forcing the two humans back into their bodies.

"You had a wife?" Griffin asked, shocked no one had ever even mentioned it to her.