A/N: Hi, here is the next chapter, again I want to remind you that this is a story from me and Authoress

enjoy and please review

"Anything, Stel?" Flora asked. Stella shook her head in response and kept trying, rubbing her hands together in a desperate attempt to produce a spark of light.

"Sorry, Flo – it's just not happening," Stella replied. "Musa, Tecna, any luck with you?"

Tecna looked up from her and Musa's combined project. "Nothing yet, sadly."

"I can't even access my powers, and Tecna's laptop battery died ages ago," Musa complained.

"I guess it's over, then," Layla said. Her tone was heavy with defeat. "We're really done for it."

"I wish Bloom was here," Flora said sadly. "She'd know what to do for sure."

"Yeah, I miss Bloom," Layla admitted.

"Me too," Tecna and Musa chimed in.

"Will you all just shut up about Bloom?" Stella snapped. The others recoiled in shock. "The way you're going on about her, you'd think she was a saint or something! God, she's just a person, okay!"

It was as if Stella had slapped them all on the face; the result was about the same. Noticing they were all edging away from her slowly, Stella added, "I just don't see what the big deal is about Bloom. It's not like she's a saint or something. So she saved Magix a few times. Big whoop. That could've been any of us. In fact, it was all of us too, but somehow she gets all the credit. How fair is that?"

Although none of the others would admit it, what Stella had said secretly sprouted a seed of doubt in their minds. Was it fair that they did all the work and Bloom did all the credit?

That seed of doubt began to take root, sprout, and flourish in their minds. And that was exactly what Baltor wanted.

---

Bloom rubbed her eyes, yawned, stretched, and took in her surroundings. Her muscles still ached from the earlier pain of today, but she ignored them and limped out of bed, trying to figure out where she was now. While exploring yesterday, she had guessed there had to be dozens of rooms in this place, and if she kept searching, eventually she would find the door that held her friends.

Wincing in pain with each step she took, Bloom made her way through most of the mansion, opening doors ever so carefully and closing them again when they inevitably did not contain her friends. Finally, she reached the top of the mansion, and gasped in shock at what she saw.

Unlike the rest of the stiff, old-fashioned mansion, with its rooms of antique, dusty-looking furniture that had most likely never been used, the top floor was surprisingly comfortable-looking, with soft, plush chairs and couches and fluffy-looking rugs. But the coolest part about the top floor – the part that made Bloom's jaw drop in shock – was that the roof was made of glass. And while she had been sleeping, day had turned to night, so the bright, twinkling stars could be seen clearly through the glass roof. "Wow," she said to no one in particular, sinking onto a soft chair.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Baltor said, coming up from behind her. Bloom jumped, and he laughed. "Did I really scare you?"

"You startled me, that's for sure," Bloom said, repositioning herself on the chair. "What are you doing up here?"

"I could ask you the same question. After all, this place is mine, and I can come and go as I wish. You, on the other hand…"

"I was… looking around," she said slowly, not wanting to reveal the true reason she'd come up: that she'd been searching for her friends again. "And the stars are so pretty tonight that I thought I'd sit down." Also, it was too painful to walk anymore, but even in her current state, Bloom knew that telling Baltor that would be a big mistake.
"More like snooping around" Baltor chuckled.
"I wasn't snooping" Bloom shot back.
"Than care to explain while you were yesterday suddenly stuck in a secured room filled with shadowmonsters?" Baltor asked, knowing that he got her there.
He had her cornered and she knew he knew it, she was trying to come up with an excuse as Baltor went on "Because of your little stunt you made yesterday, I had to make some drastic adjustments, for instant you aren't going to be sleeping in that room I appointed to you."
Bloom didn't know where he was going but it definitely didn't feel secure. "You are safe during the day, but at night the guards aren't here anymore, so …" Bloom felt she would now hear the point of his speech " you are moving to my room, that way I can protect you ,and restrain you from looking around at night."

Shock hit Bloom "You can't do that."
"Ah but I can, see, I can't trust you just yet, so until you gain my trust, you will stay at my side. It's dangerous to wonder around, not only for you, but also for my business."
Bloom shot up, ignoring the pain and tried to steady herself " you are on sick bastard you know that, taking advantage of a seventeen year old girl in a weakened state." She spat while she shoved him hard in his chest, but Baltor caught her wrist and pulled her flush against him.
"You must be very tired because of the day you had" he smirked ignoring her words and lifting her up in his arms, one hand behind her knees and the other behind the small of her back.

"Let me go you baboon" Bloom cursed as she stomped her fists against his chest but Baltor hold her body firmly against his and carried her of to what would be 'their' room from now on.

----

It was pitch black when Baltor awoke again. Even the stars had gone to sleep, and not a thing was stirring for miles. In other words, it was the perfect time to see if the second part of his plan was proceeding as planned. Bloom was silently sleeping on the floor, seeing that she stubbornly had denied to lay in bed with him.

Bloom's snooping had put him on high alert – if it hadn't been for the shadow monsters, she would have discovered his little secret. As it was, she had come dangerously close. Immediately, he had triple-boosted the protection spells, and added another few layers of invisibility charms. Better safe than sorry, he told himself. If Bloom found out about this second part of the plan, any progress he had made with her would go straight down the toilet. She'd lose any (hopefully growing) respect for him, and then everything would have been for nothing.

Finally, he undid the last protection spell, and the door appeared in front of him. Conjuring up the image he needed, Baltor slowly eased the door open.

"Who's there?" Stella yawned, fighting to keep her eyes open.

"Hello, ladies," he said, stepping inside and closing the door behind him. The room lit up with tiny, magical lanterns that cast soft, warm shadows all over. Although they were small lights, the girls still blinked and squinted, trying to adjust to the light.

"Who… who are you?" Flora asked sleepily.

Baltor smiled. His plan was working. Now there was just one thing left to test. "That doesn't matter now." Dismissing the question like a piece of dust on his jacket, Baltor pulled out the picture. "Can any of you tell me who this?"

Yawning and rubbing their eyes, the girls each tried to identify the picture. And one by one, they each shook their heads no.

Closing the door behind him Baltor headed outside, making sure to redo the protection spells. "Excellent," he said, once he was out of earshot. "Wouldn't you agree?" he asked the photo.

Bloom's smiling face stared back at him, saying nothing, of course.