This story is about mental illness; do not read if you think it will trigger you. It's not so dark that you'll be depressed for days after reading this, but I just wanted to put in a fair warning for readers.

This story is set after the conclusion of Season 5, so there will be some minor spoilers - nothing major, but just be aware. There are also LGBT characters, so if you don't approve of LGBT relationships, you should exit now.

If you're still with me – welcome to A Tale of Ice and Sorrow! Or ATIS, as I'm abbreviating it to. This has been an exciting journey, one that I have spent nearly all of my junior year on (when I was supposed to be studying for APs, hehe), and I cannot wait to share it with all of you!

Without further ado, let's begin!

CHAPTER 1: A NIGHT TO REMEMBER

13 days until…

The cold, crisp air of the early spring flowed through the town, and a pleasant breeze swept by as the students of Alfea walked around campus. Girls chattered excitedly as they walked towards their apartments or into the city. As the school year was nearly over, it was time for prom, which would be hosted at Alfea that year. Many of the girls had gone downtown, either to get a makeover to impress their sweethearts or to find a somewhat decent dress at the last possible second.

But one girl was not in Magix along with the rest of the senior class. She had already gotten her makeover the day before, before the lines had become too long, and was now alone in Emphera Forest, gazing silently at the scenery around her.

She sat down by the lake, watching the birds caw around her. The last three years of her life had been… interesting. Not terrible, but not exactly memorable, either. She'd made friends, went on a few quests, and led a few of them as well.

And that month, she'd be graduating. She could hardly wait to be out of school and start her own life. No more annoying adults telling me what to do… She had already auditioned and been accepted as a member of the Melodian Opera House, the most famous opera company in all of the United Realms. According to the audition chair, she was one of the youngest to ever be accepted into the Opera House. She could hardly wait to start her new life as a celebrity, where she would dance and sing and act for the entire world.

Wish my parents were here. With that, a sudden bitterness hit her heart, and she stared vacantly at the ground. They weren't going to be coming today; they were off on business, as usual. As advisors to the king of Solaria and members of the Magix Peace Corps, they were always busy; rarely did they have time to visit or even to write.

She thought of her roommates. How they chattered about their parents, how they received gifts at holidays, how some even went home on the weekends. But she, she was stuck at Alfea. All throughout the year, and sometimes even during vacation. She never got to go home.

None of that mattered anymore, though. In just a few short weeks, she would be free. Since her parents would have nothing to do with her, she didn't have any obligations to anyone. Yes, she would now have new responsibilities as an opera singer, but her life would mostly be glamorous and exciting. I can hardly wait… Smiling slightly, she stood up and began to walk to the castle.

"Hey, Aria! There you are!"

She turned around from her seated location in the dining-hall. It was a freshman girl, one whose name Aria didn't even know. Why's she talking to me as if she's my best friend? She smiled, successfully managing to hide her snigger.

"I just wanted to say – you'rereallycool!" the girl said in a rush. "You've always gotten the lead role in our musicals, and you're going to the Opera House next winter! You're so cool to have been accepted! I watch it all the time on Interrealm cable, and now I'm going to see you acting! I can hardly wait!"

"Thanks," said Aria, trying her hardest to sound modest. In truth, she could hardly hide her laughter. Who is this loser? Does she really think she's worthy to talk to me? No matter. Once she went to the Opera House, she'd be able to decide who she spoke to and who she didn't.

"I'm so impressed by you, Aria." A woman wearing a frivolous amount of jewelry walked up to Aria, smiling at her. "As someone who can't even croak decently, I am beyond amazed at your talent. You say you've been singing for… how many years?"

"A few," said Aria dismissively. The truth was, she had been training at the Melodian Operatic Academy since she was barely five years old.

"Well, you sound wonderful!" the woman exclaimed, not realizing the fact that Aria hadn't even answered her question. "You think so too, right, Mary?"

"She's so great, Professor DuFour," the freshman girl called Mary answered. "I want to be just like her."

Bogus, thought Aria. DuFour was the aeroflynamics' teacher, a complete pushover, and Mary was, now that she remembered, some arbitrary girl from Solaria. Neither had ever heard her sing.

"I'd better go up to change now," she said, excusing herself from her group of fervent admirers.

"Of course," said DuFour cordially. "I hope you enjoy prom!"

Aria smiled demurely and walked away from the hall. She was too busy smiling and waving at her fan crowd, which had now built up to a few more girls, to pay attention to where she was walking. Before she knew it, she'd bumped into someone and had tumbled unceremoniously to the ground.

"Watch where you're goi" – she began furiously, then stopped. "Oh, hi," she said almost sheepishly, when she looked up to see who it was.

A brown-skinned woman wearing a brown robe gazed down coolly at her. She had an austere expression on her face, not at all amused.

"Miss Cacciatore," she said dryly. "As they say, pride comes before a fall. Show some humility next time, why don't you?"

Aria blushed furiously as she picked herself up off the ground. How embarrassing! She turned back to look at her group of fans. They were all looking at her, with worried expressions on their faces. "I'm okay!" she called back, and then turned back to the teacher. "Sorry," she mumbled.

"Well, have a good night," the woman said, giving Aria one final, hard look as she swept off.

Aria walked as quickly as possible, her cheeks flaming. Whereas she had practiced the art of composure and dignity all her life, High Priestess Saraswati Iyer was the one person who, in a blink of an eye, could take it all away. She was the High Priestess at the Temple of the Thirteen Realms, but also taught a philosophy class in the deeper, more practical art of magic. She was also the oldest staff member at Alfea, nearly five hundred years old, which was abnormal for a fairy, let alone a witch. Few witches ever passed two or three hundred.

She forced the priestess out of her mind as she entered her room. As she pulled out her dress, she had only one thought. Nothing will ruin this awesome night…

That night, an auburn-haired girl sat silently near the bushes. She looked up at the stars, sighing as she admired them in the night. One thing she admired about Magix was that, no matter how bright the city-lights were, she could still see the stars. It's not like that at home… Her realm was filled with too much energy and power to reveal any stars.

The bushes rustled, and she looked up to see who it was.

"Daree!" she squealed, running up to a tall boy wearing a red coat. She gave him a big hug.

The boy grinned down at her. "Geez, sis," he laughed, "you make it sound like we haven't seen each other in ages. It's not like we, you know, saw each other yesterday." He smiled. "How has freshman year been?"

"It's great," Sharzad exclaimed, dancing up and down. "I've learned so much more this year than I could've ever possibly dreamed!"

Her brother, Darius, was a senior at Red Fountain. They were both from Fulgur, the realm of storms, and served as its prince and princess. Darius had turned eighteen that winter, which meant that he had officially been coronated as crown prince and given new responsibilities by his father. He didn't seem to be a big fan of that, but so far, it was going pretty well.

"I thought you'd say that," he laughed. "Oh, and you look pretty."

"Oh," she blushed, gazing down at her dress. She was wearing a long silver dress with silver sandals. She liked dressing up, but she liked to keep her choice of clothes as simple as possible.

"Well, I wish I could stay, sis," Darius sighed. "but I can't. I was foolish enough to volunteer for flag duty, and so I have to help Saladin and Faragonda raise the Magix flag over campus."

"Always so patriotic," Sharzad teased him affectionately.

"Not really," Darius grinned, "but whatever. I'll see you later."

"Bye, Daree!" Sharzad waved to him as he disappeared.

"Sharzad!" she heard a voice, and turned around. Her friend, a Melodian boy, was heading towards her. He had a cheeky smile on his face.

"Hey, you," she greeted him. "How's the Academy going?"

Daewon studied at the Academy of Paladins, a school for wizards in Magix that had just opened a few years ago by the United Realms' Defense Administration. Before, wizards had not been able to train on the same level as fairy-beings and witches, a fact that they'd highly resented. But now, the Defense Association was sponsoring their education as well, which meant that the best wizards of each realm could also be selected to train as defenders of the Magical Dimension. To be a student in the Academy of Paladins, as well as Alfea, Red Fountain, or Cloud Tower, was an honor, and a large responsibility as well; many of the students helped the Defense Administration in the protection of the Magical Dimension.

"It's great," he said in a rather cocky voice.

"So, how's it going?" Sharzad asked brightly. "Ready for your sophomore year?"

"Meh," Daewon shrugged. "It's okay. The question is, are you ready to do work?"

"Hey!" she protested playfully, swatting his shoulder. "I do a lot!"

"Sure," Daewon smirked. "That's what they all say. You just wait until prom's over. They'll start piling all the work up and making you study. This is where the real work starts."

Sharzad rolled her eyes. "You sophomores are so full of yourselves," she complained. "You always try to scare us freshmen."

Daewon didn't answer. Instead, he was staring at something – or rather, at someone – ahead of him.

Sharzad followed his gaze – and saw that he was staring at a golden-haired girl. The girl had slightly tanned skin and blue eyes, and was talking to a taller girl with red hair and green eyes. "Who're you staring at?"

"That's her," Daewon said in a hushed voice. "Aria Cadenza. You didn't tell me she went to Alfea."

"Yeah, she's a senior," Sharzad answered. She frowned. "Why?"

"I know her," Daewon said faintly. "She's from my realm."

"What?" That didn't sound right. "She doesn't even look Melodian."

"That's because her father is from Solaria," he answered flatly. "She looks way more Solarian, but heck, she's inherited her mother's abilities all right." His tone did not sound the least bit flattering.

Curiosity piqued Sharzad. "What happened between you two?"

"Nothing you should worry about," he answered curtly, which annoyed her. He snorted. "Dressed to the hilt, in that ridiculous ball-gown. Just like her."

"Everyone's wearing ball-gowns," Sharzad pointed out. "Well, except me," she added as an afterthought.

"But the others don't look so lavish," Daewon answered. "I mean, look at the girl next to her."

That's true, Sharzad realized. Aria's dress was a beautiful shade of sunrise-pink, filled to the brim with golden embroidery, and adorned with blue jewelry. The other girl – Maire, her name was – was, by comparison, almost plain; her dress, only knee-length, consisted of pale yellow lace and green sleeves. She shivered. "Is she really that bad?"

"Just stay away from her," Daewon advised. "Don't talk to her, don't go near her. Trust me, she isn't worth your time." He laughed snidely and bitterly.

Alarmed, Sharzad looked at him. She had never seen this side of Daewon before. Okay, I know he can be cocky, but he's never like this. Then she remembered something else she knew about this girl.

"She dated my brother," she said. "They broke up a year ago."

Daewon stared at her, his expression reflecting incredulity. "What?"

"Yeah," she said. "I mean, I don't know much about her, but her relationship with him can't have been that bad. Darius said their breakup was entirely mutual."

"No way," Daewon snorted. "I'd bet money that she did something to him."

"Look, you don't have to be so judgmental," said Sharzad, beginning to feel annoyed. "If Darius liked her, how can she be that bad? My brother would never date someone that treated him like dirt."

"These kind of women, you can never make out," Daewon answered. "They're seductive and they trap men in their web of megalomania" –

"Okay, will you stop it?" Sharzad cried. "That's sexist and just plain wrong. Just drop it, okay? I'm sorry I even mentioned it."

"Whatever you say," Daewon smirked, in an infuriating tone. "Let's talk about something else."

"Yeah, sure," Sharzad muttered. Trying to think of something that wouldn't give Daewon the chance to exhibit his own delusions of grandeur, she asked, "So, how are you doing in History of Magic?"

"Can't wait till be out of this place," Maire said.

"Totally," Aria agreed. "Now is when life begins."

Having a fan-club was tiring, she was now beginning to realize. All day, she had been plagued by vicious fangirls from around Magix, all of whom wanted to bombard her with a million questions about how she had been accepted into the Opera House. Fortunately, their parents had all taken them home before it became too late. She now had Maire all to herself.

"You're lucky you found a job so easily," Maire said enviously. "I have to find a job quickly, too, so that I don't end up at home."

Aria nodded. Maire was from Summa, the realm of the natural elements, and she hated going home. She and her mother had… issues. "Yeah, it's going to be great going to the Opera House," she said airily. "I'm going to have so much fun. I mean, I've already gone on tour many times with several different productions, but now I'm going to have a permanent spot with a real company. They said that I could possibly even have a lead role the first year. Isn't that awesome?"

"That's great," said Maire, but her tone didn't match her words. Her usually vibrant green eyes looked rather dull.

"You don't seem that excited," said Aria, feeling annoyed. "Aren't you excited for me?"

"I am," Maire protested. "It's just"… Her voice trailed off. "I'm dealing with a lot of stuff at home."

"Well then, go find a job," Aria sniggered. "You shouldn't let your mom boss you around so much. I didn't let anyone tell me what to do when I applied for the Opera House."

"You don't let a lot of people tell you what to do," Maire said with a slightly edgy undertone.

"Yeah, well, that's the secret of life," Aria answered. "And it's worked pretty well for me. Why don't you take a leaf out of my book?"

"I hate her," Maire answered through clenched teeth. "I've told her several times. But she'll never listen to me. She thinks she knows better than everyone else." She sighed. "You know what the sad thing is about this year?"

"What?" asked Aria, only mildly interested.

"We never received our Enchantixes," Maire said glumly. "We'll graduate, but it won't be the same as the fairies who've reached their final fairy-form. We'll never be Guardian Fairies of our home realms." She let out a sigh.

Aria was about to answer, but then the sound of a bell filled the air. She looked up at the Magix Square clock and saw that it was midnight. It signified the end of prom, and Saladin called towards his boys, rounding them up to go back to Red Fountain. "Sorry! Gotta go get some sleep. I'm beat." After dealing with all of those fangirls, she was ready to crash.

"See you," Maire answered in a half-hearted tone.

Aria turned towards the building, heading into the hall and up the stairs to her apartment. Her mind was filled with nothing but thoughts of her great future.

In a distant land, long forgotten by the United Realms, a frigid expanse of ice and snow went on for as long as the eye could see; the institution of spring and warmth had long been abandoned. Atop a snowy hill, a glittering blue castle made entirely out of ice spiraled towards the sky, its towers almost disappearing under the low-hanging clouds. A pale-haired woman stood on a large balcony, admiring the dancing auroras in the night sky.

She had built this castle herself, a castle only meant to befit the queen of Glacia. It was truly a beautiful castle, and one of wonders, too. It also was extremely secure – she knew that no one would ever be able to get inside. Although she was mainly alone in the castle, she had a handful of guards that she knew would protect her. She also had many subjects that she could rule over and command – but since most of them lived far away from the castle, she had to go out there and physically command them in order for anything to get done. In a rush of bitterness, she thought back to the time when Glacia had been a thriving nation, and when the royal family had been respected by the people of the kingdom. But a series of events, including the death of her family and her conviction of various crimes, had led to Glacia's downfall and withdrawal from the United Realms.

But that is all going to change soon… Her plan was all in order. She had done her research, practiced her spells, and decided on a trap. Now all that was left was to spring it.

All it requires is one girl – one girl who will be easily be taken over. She is powerful, yes, but so weak in the mind. She will do my bidding, no matter what. From careful observation and research, she had watched the girl all throughout her high-school years, and knew she was the spark to ignite the war.

The time has come…

All right, so there's the first chapter. What do you think of Aria so far? Of the other characters? Any guesses as to where I'm going with this?

Just a few things I wanted to share:

- I grew up with the 4Kids dub, though I am fairly well-versed with the Cinélume version. The dialects of any original Winx Club characters will be 4Kids-inspired (though most of my characters are OC). The names, however, will mostly be the original Cinélume names. 4Kids doesn't win many awards for creativity, certainly not when they changed 'Andros' to 'Tides' and 'Miele' to 'Rose'. I mean, really? Rose? We really can't tell she's Flora's sister. *rant over* Anyhow, that's how it's going to work.

- This story has been a very intense personal journey for me. I myself have suffered from mental illness throughout my sophomore year; it is an issue that is very important to me. I did some research for a psychological standpoint, and I was amazed at how much it could affect people. I hope to express that sentiment in ATIS as much as possible.

If you guys have any thoughts, I would love to hear them! We authors really appreciate hearing what our readers think. I'll post everything I have so far, and from then on, I'm updating on a weekly basis.

See you in the comments' section!