Disclaimer: I don't own the Winx Club.

A.N. I have taken some artistic licensing with this chapter. I've shifted season three episode eight, nine and ten around so that Musa got her Enchantix before they went to Eraklyon (because technically Sky wasn't supposed to be in the last chapter) but this chapter is set between episode 8 and nine, but Layla does know about the arranged marriage. Also I'm disregarding the movie too. Hopefully you'll enjoy this chapter. I just wrote it to see if I could still write since my creative writing class is making me woefully depressed and disillusioned with writing.

Time out

Riven crouched over the sheet before him with his brow furrowed. The piece of paper was turning out to be the bane of his existence, probably because it was also the key to his future. Just a tiny slip of paper, barely the thickness of a thumbnail, would either see him set on his desired career path or taking a trip to bitterness and failure. Was it any wonder that he just wanted to take the paper and shred it? Nothing was worth this much grief, was it?

He blew out a breath and rounded on the only other figure in the small study area with him. "What kind of questions are these? They make no sense. They have nothing to do with strategy and they certainly don't show them what kind of soldier I am."

Timmy peered over the book he was reading and pursed his lips. "Well they kind of do, Riven. Those 'what if' situations tell them whether or not you can take orders and make decisions and what kind of decisions you'd make."

Riven snarled under his breath and flung another pen away, having decided that it didn't fit right in his fingers. He picked up another, weighed it and deemed it a worthy implement. "So, what about these ones here? There's no right or wrong answer."

"Exactly; it's not about being right or wrong, it's about getting to know you. These questions are a form of gaining insight into the mind of Riven, the man behind the soldier. The elites have to be careful about who they choose. They're not going to want hotheads but they're also not going to summon mindless soldiers. They want the perfect balance between the two. Someone who can work under orders, be a leader and work with a team as well as that person who can take initiative to do what's needed to be done without being asked."

"Then why am I doing this? I'm not anything like that. Codatorta's always complaining that I never do things right, that I'm too stubborn and that evil follows me around like a bad smell."

"Calm down, Riven." Helia quietly spoke up from behind him where he'd been leaning against a bookcase. "Why don't you let them make the decision? This piece of paper is just one formality, there are other places where you'll get to prove to yourself and to everyone else just how good you can be."

Timmy breathed a sigh of relief, thanking whatever deity it was that had called upon Helia to come to his rescue. As much as he respected and looked up to Riven, he always felt woefully incompetent in dealing with the sullen boy's moods. No matter what he wanted to say, he generally became tongue-tied when it came to emotional stuff. Even Tecna could back that up. The best people to deal with Riven in this mood were Helia and Brandon. Unfortunately Brandon was in Eraklyon watching Sky.

"So how do I answer questions on me? Medical ones I'm fine on but what do I consider my best and worst trait?" With a scowl, Riven shoved away from the table to stalk over to the fire. "And why do they need to know about my family? What's that going to tell them? I'm not going to turn away a mother in need of help just because mine was a bitch. I'm not going to prevent people from getting married because I think marriage is a crock. I'm not going to stop some prince from saving the girl he loves because I think love is a fucking noose."

"You might want to be careful about your oral interview, Riv. You're exhibiting some issues right there."

Riven blew out a breath. "There's a question about suicide in my family history."

Helia paused; then slowly nodded. "Ah. Well, that's not hereditary. Your father didn't kill himself because of any mental health problems, Riven."

"Didn't he? He killed himself because he couldn't live without my mother. The old women in the camp called it dying of a broken heart to soften the blow, but the truth of the matter is that he was so fucking depressed at failure that he couldn't see the light so he ended it. What's to say I wouldn't do the same?"

"You think Musa would run out on you?" Timmy asked incredulously.

Riven snorted. "Not likely."

"Not when you're planning on leaving her behind." Helia stated quietly, his eyes pointedly resting on the red head.

He didn't want to talk about that right now. "I'm talking about failing a mission. What if I screw up so bad and the depression finally gets its hands on me?"

"Do you really think that could happen?

Riven jerked a shoulder. It was an unspoken fear that he hadn't ever wanted to truly acknowledge. Most of the time he clung to the anger, to the bitterness but every so often he could feel the slick black waves licking at his heels, curling at his ankles just before he shook it off.

"Look, you can let that fear take you under now and just give up your desire to be in the Elites –"

"Or?"

"Or, you join the Elites. Do what you want to do for a while and if the depression does get to you, then you can take your time off and deal with it then on your own terms. You're aware of the fact that it could happen to you so you'll be prepared to deal with it. Just don't let it dictate your life."

Riven absorbed the quietly delivered words from his pacifist roommate then nodded, heading back to the form once more. "I still dislike these questions. How do you write an essay on yourself?"

"Just say why you want to join the elites, what's your driving force. They just want to see a bit of what Riven is like. It's the interview with you they'll be most interested in and your references."

"Who've you asked?" Helia wondered, taking a seat and straddling the back of it. "Saladin?"

"Yeah and Codatorta. I was thinking of maybe asking Ms. Griffin and Faragonda too, you know whenever they find her."

"Good idea." Timmy enthused. "You helped Griffin get out of Cloud Tower and if anything comes out about your time with the witches, she'll be the best person to tell the truth about the spell placed upon you."

Helia hissed out a breath. "Might be bad if they find out about it. What's to say that you're not weakened against magical attacks like that now?"

"Because I've been training with Paladium. We're working on making my mental shields stronger. Since I keep being attacked, Faragonda and Saladin figured there was something in my aura that attracted them. I also have this –" He added, pulling the neckline of his t-shirt down to reveal a rune just below his collarbone. The intricate design was inked into his skin in his signature colour and seemed to faintly shimmer.

"A rune mark," Helia marvelled. "I've never seen one close up. That's old school magic. No one really uses it much anymore, bar the odd wizard here and there. Pretty potent stuff."

"Griffin, Saladin and Faragonda were involved in creating it. It hurt like a Minotaur's horn but if it makes me a better candidate for the elite, I don't care."

"It's like an anti-Valtor mark, right?" Timmy mused, as Riven let his shirt slide back into place. "Valtor's mark ensured he could have access to people while that mark ensures no one has access to you."

"Exactly. I'm fed up playing puppet for the bad guys."

"Just like an anti-possession talisman only in your skin so you never forget it. That would have hurt," Helia muttered, rubbing a phantom pain in his own chest.

Riven quietly nodded and returned his attention to the form, picking out more questions that could be easily answered with a brief description. He'd have to photocopy records of his missions, successful and not so successful. Alas, a lot of his major missions had been contaminated with the presence of the Jinx Club which wouldn't look great on his application form but there were other solo missions and RF missions that would show his skills.

"Well with such references you'll be a shoo-in, Riven." Timmy stated, standing up and slapping him on the back. "Anyways, I have a flight simulation training to prepare for, so I'll see you two at dinner."

"Sure, Timmy."

Riven grunted an affirmative and scribbled another answer before placing down his pen and leaning back in his seat. "I'll leave the rest 'til later. I need to formulate a rough draft for these essay questions and talk to Codatorta about what would sound best."

"You could get him to proof read and if you want, I can have a look at it too. I'm told I'm good with words."

Riven quirked a lip and it quickly developed into a flashing grin. "Ah I knew there was a reason I kept you around."

"You know someone else who's good with words?"

Riven lifted an amused brow and then his expression sobered. "Musa. Yeah, she's fantastic with words and stuff. I should get some feedback from her."

"Means telling her about your plans though."

Ah, now that was a kicker. How did you tell the girl who claimed to be in love with you that you were planning to do intense training for a corps that would probably get you killed at some stage or another? The same way you told her that you were fighting depression. Simply put: you didn't.

"Musa's got enough on her plate without me adding to it. You and Codatorta are more than enough to help me."

Helia let out a gusty breath. "You know Riven, for such a brave guy, you're the biggest coward I know."

Riven flinched but tried to remain cheerful. "Bigger than Rick*?"

"Definitely."

Riven had been sitting in his room studying the questions before him for thirty minutes when the call came through that he had a visitor in the lobby. It was an hour before dinner and usually visitors came earlier in the day or after dinner so that in itself was strange but for Riven, the really strange thing was that he had a visitor. For the life of him he couldn't think of who it would be... unless it was some stupid prank. That wouldn't be a surprise.

He stood in the elevator and braced himself for someone to jump out at him as soon as the doors opened. He didn't relax when they didn't, but instead tensed further. His fingers slid to the hilt of his weapon before sliding back to his belt. It wouldn't look good if he had a report in his file for drawing a weapon on a fellow hero.

He approached the desk, scanning the area and raised a brow at Hilton who was working behind the desk. "Yo."

"Riven, your visitor is over there." The senior stated, pointing towards the main doors to the lobby area. "Didn't want to sit in the lobby itself, said it would draw too much attention or some shit like that."

"Your eloquence astounds me," Riven drawled, heading for the main doors and stepping out into the brisk air. He looked around and frowned when he spotted the figure sitting on one of the stone benches in the courtyard. He raked a hand through his hair and approached to bench.

"So what are you doing here, then?" He asked, dropping down onto the seat beside her.

"I – I'm sorry. I should have called first. I'm bothering you, right?"

Red alarms began to whir in his head and he bit his tongue, forcing his brain into action. Musa was here, in Red Fountain, visiting him. That was not the normal MO. Usually he went to her or they met on neutral ground, like Magix or on a mission together. Musa rarely ventured into his space unless he brought her with him. It wasn't that she wasn't welcome, she was more than – though he didn't really know if she was aware of that – but getting into Red Fountain wasn't exactly easy.

"How did you get up here?" The words burst through the dam he erected and he could have cursed when she flinched. "I didn't mean it to sound like that."

"I'm sorry. I'll just go."

"Oi," He snapped, reaching out and grabbing her hand before she could run off. She had a penchant for doing so and he was wise to her tactics. "Not so fast. Look, I'm not saying you shouldn't be here. I'm just wondering how you got up here."

Her blue eyes flashed. "I'm a fairy, Riven. We have wings."

He gaped at her for a second before standing up. "You flew? Musa, you could have hurt yourself. You could have been eaten by a dragon!"

"No, I could not. One, no Dragon flies out here alone, not without another wrangler nearby and two, I'm a fairy of Music, something Dragons are very susceptible to."

"Fine," he acknowledged. "So why are you here? It's not a social visit."

"Why can't it be a social visit? Why can't I just spring a surprise visit on my boyfriend?"

"Because you're you and you always phone. It's your thing. And I come to you, another one of those things."

"Well maybe I wanted to change things. Great Dragon Riven, I just wanted to come see you though goodness knows why. You're so damn surly all the time."

He sighed and reached out, yanking her to him. He ignored her struggles and continued to hold her against him until the fight drained out of her and her arms were snug around him. "Talk."

"There's nothing to..." She trailed off with a groan before burying her face in his shoulder. Finally, she withdrew her head and looked up at him. "The girls are annoying me. I love them but they're so insensitive at times. I just get so fed up of them bitching about their parents. Stella's father is getting married to a horrible woman, I know this but that doesn't mean her father won't still love her and sure, her parents aren't getting remarried but sometimes marriage doesn't work out. Sometimes it's better to separate and be happy but Stella refuses to see that and she just swans about the place complaining and moaning about how they don't love her enough to get back together."

With a frustrated sound she pushed away from Riven to stalk to the edge of the path. Riven sat down and prepared himself for the rant that was just waiting to erupt from the Musical fairy's lips.

"So what if they're not happy together. They're still her parents, they still love her. Why doesn't she appreciate that? And Bloom! Bloom has the nicest parents ever. They're so welcoming and they accepted that she was a fairy and that she had to go to Alfea and that she's a princess and she's dating a prince and they even accept all of us as her friends. They're lovely; they don't fuss about her fighting the Trix and they don't enforce any restrictions on her but let her be herself. And what does she do to repay them? She spends all her time looking for her dead birth parents. Honestly, I don't understand this. Of course she's curious and yes, I understand that if they're out there somewhere and they're alive, then it's Bloom's duty to help them but she's blowing off her own parents to look for Miriam and Oritel. I just can't agree with that. I feel so bad every time Vanessa phones looking for Bloom and Bloom's off somewhere searching for her birth parents. She's even taking to calling Vanessa by her given name instead of mom when she's with us. At least she hasn't done it to Vanessa's face yet.

"And then there's Layla. I love Layla to bits. She's the best and she gets me in a way the others don't but dear goddess above, she spends all her time these days complaining about how her parents don't understand her, or her need for freedom and individuality."

"They're arranging a marriage for her, Musa. That's bound to upset our bra burning feminist." Riven felt like scraping his tongue clean for sticking up for the tomboyish fairy of Tides.

"I know, I know. It's bad and if my dad did it to me, I'd rain every vestige of Dischord upon him – but I have you so damn straight I'm not looking to be married to some random guy. But her parents are way too nice to just marry her off to anyone without thinking about how they'd click. I think that if she went to her parents and explained, they might listen to her and call off the wedding but instead Layla throws fits and sulks in her room listening to Oceanic Waves at full blast." She whirled on him, blue fire burning in her eyes. "I love all kinds of Music but that stuff is pushing it. Merfolk just have absolutely no rhythm!"

Riven choked back a laugh and settled himself back against the tree trunk. "Have you tried talking to the girls? It's unlike them to be insensitive on purpose."

"And that's the problem. They're not being insensitive on purpose; I'm just being too sensitive. I just needed to get out of there, release some stress. We're on lock down until Valtor makes his next move and it's just getting to be too much. I'm nervous about where the next attack is going to come from. Now I have my Enchantix, I'm going to be on the front line to protect Bloom from him and I'm scared."

Riven frowned, patting the seat beside him. "Why?"

"He's so sneaky and I look at Stella and Layla, they're so confident with their Enchantix powers but I don't have proper control over mine. I keep dreaming that I transform and instead of changing into my Enchantix, the ribbons of magic keep spinning around me, suffocating me and I can't control them." She blew out a breath and sat down beside him, allowing him to put his arm around her so she could snuggle closer. "The burden seems to be placed upon us because, now that we have the Enchantix, we're seen as the strongest fairies in Alfea after the teachers. I just don't want to fail. I don't think we're strong enough to go up against Valtor alone yet."

"You'll just have to train more and get to grips with your powers again. It's different for us, we don't get power upgrades but we do learn skills and initially they're tough to do but the more you practice, the more it becomes second nature. It's not like you would have gotten your enchanting stuff if you weren't ready for it and it's inside you so obviously you're powerful enough to use it. You just need to have faith and all that stuff."

Musa glanced up at him before ducking her head with a smile. "All that stuff... yeah I guess you're right. I know I can do this. It's just that we have to get Sky back because Bloom's really upset about it and she can't concentrate on getting stronger if her mind is caught on Sky. Not to mention the fact that she's upset she'll never get her Enchantix."

"Why not? And has anyone ever thought that maybe Sky doesn't want to come back?"

As soon as he spoke the words he knew he shouldn't have opened his mouth but it was a legitimate question. Brandon was sitting pretty in Eraklyon because he thought he could break Sky out but since Sky hadn't made a move to get in contact with Brandon, it seemed to Riven that the blond had made his choice and it wasn't Bloom. To be honest though, if Riven were in that situation, he would have dropped both of them. Seriously, who needed such whiny girls on their case all the time? Much better to just concentrate on your duties as a hero.

"To get your Enchantix, you must sacrifice yourself to help someone from your home planet. Since Sparx is destroyed, there's no one for Bloom to sacrifice herself for."

"Ah that's going to piss her off. Can't save Sky, can't save anyone else –"

"Riven!"

"What? No offence to the girl but she does kind of have a god complex. That Dragon fire of hers does not give her the right to go prancing around looking for trouble at every turn."

Musa growled and stood up to look down at him. "Look, Bloom does not go looking for trouble."

"Ok, fine, it comes looking for her but even when she was a freshman, she saw it as her duty to take on the Trix. Why didn't the older fairies take on the Army of Decay? Why was she the one roaming around Cloud Tower?"

"I don't know Riven but the older fairies had their own missions to go on. Some of them were on other planets completing their final exams to prove they were ready to go out into the world as fairy godmothers, muses, nymphs or other variations of Fairies. A lot of them couldn't make it back for the final battle. Those that did were there doing what they could and taking care of the rest of us."

Riven sighed. Sometimes his mouth got him in a shitload of trouble and the last thing he wanted to do was to piss Musa off or make her more upset.

"And as for Sky, well don't you think we should get him back? Do you really think he went to Diaspro of his own accord? Does that seem normal to you? Taking in all that we know about Valtor now, do you really think that Sky just suddenly decided he loved Diaspro and set his guards upon us?"

Riven curled a lip. Fine. Put that way it did sound ridiculous but the last thing he wanted to do was intrude in his friend's personal problems.

"This whole thing seems wrong. It's like he's been mind raped and now he doesn't have a thought of his own beyond what Diaspro wants him to think."

"But do you honestly think Valtor and Diaspro are in cahoots?"

Musa paused, tapping a finger to her lip. Riven watched her, taking in how different she looked since he'd first met her. She truly was beautiful and would probably grow to resemble her mother more and more as she grew older. It made him wonder who he resembled. If Musa had met his parents, would she think he resembled one of them? If she knew about his parents, would it change her perception of him?

"I haven't said it to Bloom but it's something to think about, isn't it? I mean, I don't think Diaspro is evil but she's desperate and desperate people do desperate things. Even if she's not influenced by Valtor, I still think we should do something because Sky is not thinking straight – he called us witches! – and that's just wrong. He's being mind warped and you, out of everyone, should know how that feels."

Riven flinched. Yeah, he did know how that felt and he didn't like to be reminded of that time in his life. It hadn't been a good time and it certainly wasn't something he could forget easily, especially when it was often thrown in his face every time it happened to someone else. The burn in his chest flared hot for a second and he rubbed it, letting it filter into his mind that he could not be influenced like that ever again.

"Ok, you're right. Sky is under some kind of spell because Sky is too damn decent to pull a stunt like that. He turned himself into a total sap for Bloom, there's no way that was a pretence and to what purpose? Ha, you're right. Diaspro probably did do something so if you need someone to take you to get him out of there, I'm your man. Besides, I'm a way better flyer than Helia."

Musa blinked. "Alright then. I'll talk to the girls and then we can sort out when we'll go. It has to be soon though. Stella needs to bust up her father's wedding to Cassandra and Layla wants to go back to Tides and sort out all this marriage stuff. And we have to destroy Valtor... I wonder if any other students have this much of a work load during the school year?"

Riven snorted. "No, I'm fairly certain that's a Jinx Club speciality."

"Well, we're entertaining at least." Musa pointed out, glancing at the sky. "And I should probably get back to Alfea. They'll be looking for me."

"How will you get back?"

"I'll fly or get a hovercab."

Riven stretched his arms over his head and rose to his feet. "Eh, I can get you there. Ruby Rascal needs her evening exercise anyway."

Musa blanched. "Oh no; no, no, no. Your dragon doesn't like me and after our trip to Eraklyon, I am not exactly the biggest fan of those lizards."

"Ruby's just territorial. It's the problem with having a female dragon. They're incredibly protective of their wranglers and they're certainly more easily managed but put them in contact with another female of any species and they go ballistic."

"This is why I rely on my own wings to get me around. If Ruby goes for me, I'm putting her to sleep for a while."

He grinned but it faltered when Musa produced a flute from behind her back and twirled it through her fingers. Oh, not a joke then.

"Just don't do it while we're in the air, a crash landing in Alfea wouldn't be too impressive."

Musa chuckled softly and put her arms around him, hugging him tightly. "Thank you."

"For what?" He questioned, stroking her hair. It had grown so much over the summer between their second and third year. It made her look more feminine, something that was probably influenced by Tune, he mused as he enjoyed the feel of her pressed against him.

She tilted her head back to observe him. "For being you."

He shrugged and pressed a quick kiss to her lips. "No problem. Now let's go, Ruby waits for no one."

He released her and placing a hand on her back, he guided her towards the stables and the only other female that had a place in his heart.

A.N. Ok, so that was a brief interlude because I wanted to write something Musa/Riven-ish. Hopefully you guys will have enjoyed it even though nothing really happened.