Disclaimer: I do not own the Winx Club. The ideas and OCs presented in this story are mine however. But this is still a work written for leisure; all rights to their respective owners.

Title: Death came for the Princess (formerly known as Her Flowing Crimson Hails the Advent)

Canon implemented in this story: Seasons 1 - 3 and the first Winx Club movie: Secrets of the Lost Kingdom, subsequent seasons may be included but not as they have been in the official series.

ACT 1

I: The Princess is Dead

Stella stab-dragged the ruby-red lipstick across her lips and over one side of her face, leaving a thick smear.

"Hello? Are you there?"

In between surprise and disbelief she still held the expectation what she had just been told was some kind of stupid prank.

"Bloom is…dead?" she repeated, affected with a sudden bout of lethargy.

"You don't believe me? I'm telling you Stella…it's just…all the other students in Alfea. They're going crazy. I think everyone's going crazy right now. The news just came out of nowhere…Stella?"

The Crown Princess of Solaria stared into her mirror.

She'd just returned from her family's solstice retreat and had spent most of the day working on some new pieces for her latest vanity line. Mere moments ago she had been casually chatting about arranging a get-together with all the Winx girls. Even Bloom who she joked had become a recluse.

It was Bloom's own fault for not making an effort on her part to keep contact with any of them.

Fault.

Stella slapped her hands onto her face dragging them down. She recoiled quickly giving an agitated spat at the lipstick now over her hand which also tarnished her delicately powdered face further.

Just like that she was expected to believe Bloom was dead. Bloom expected her to believe she was dead.

Stella knew she should be crying or going into mourning over the news. But it had been years since any of the Winx girls had spoken to her properly. The only thing she really felt was some kind of distress, anger even.

The Crown Princess shook her head a little. The entire situation was ridiculous to say the least.

"This…this is ridiculous to say the least. Nova. She wouldn't just end up dead so…suddenly." Stella voiced her thoughts as she grasped her holographic communicator.

"Tell the journalists and any other royal watchdog that! It's all over the screens and every wavelength or public communication line. People can't stop talking about it."

"I suppose they'll all be discussing the funeral ceremonies and arrangements now." Stella sighed, picking up a cloth with her free hand to repair her make-up damage.

"That's another thing you should know about Stella. It gets even more bizarre."

"Representatives from the Magi Conclave are scrambling to play down allegations that the Phantom Army has seized control of the realm of Dolona. Even before this latest development rumours have been circling for years that something was amiss with the kingdom as it began to noticeably withdraw from intergalactic politics but–"

"No wrong channel Faragonda. That's not what I wanted to show you."

The television display fizzed as Griselda tapped the control stick until she found what she was looking for.

"I'm honestly not surprised that she's dead."

Sounds of overdramatised shock and amusement burst from the onscreen audience.

"Aren't you being a little insensitive considering that the Princess is only recently deceased?" the show host asked.

"Hardly, I'm certain that Princess Bloom has been dead for some time already. And long before Domino's royal family decided to roll out this announcement. I mean they can't even come up with a good explanation as to why she even supposedly "died" in the first place." The guest speaker, a well-known royal observer, made commas with his fingers.

"May I just draw to your attention that the palace spokesperson did confirm Princess Bloom died in her bed…sir?" Another guest speaker who was a representative of Domino's government rolled his eyes.

"And from what exactly? Her lack of attention?"

Gasps echoed across the show room. But before the royal observer could make his point further the show host interrupted him.

"Apologies, but why exactly are you–"

"Before this whole drama happened, nobody cared about who Princess Bloom was anymore. She'd done her best to withdraw from–"

"Nobody cared?" The representative glared at him. "She's saved the Magical Dimension so many–"

"No. No. Listen to me." The observer raised his voice to drown out his other counterpart's protests, "She led the people who saved the Magical Dimension so many times. Without the other members of the Winx Club or the Company of Light, or whatever they called themselves, she wouldn't have been able to do anything."

"Sorry again, but regardless of what you're saying," The show host broke in again. "It doesn't change the fact that Princess Bloom is dead."

"No. But honestly, I'd been hearing rumours from some credible resources she had become increasingly disturbed in the last few years. I'm pretty certain she took her own life just to be remembered for something–"

"This is the problem with you observers all the time. You capitalise on what any half-wit knows is mindless gossip. Why don't you announce your theory on Domino instead of Magix if you're so willing to push that point forward?" The representative sneered.

"Oh I'm the one with conspiracy theories? Don't officials like you have a laughable reputation for capitalising on public hysteria with honey-worded tales? And then supressing the truth when it suits you?"

The rest of the audience went into an uproar.

Faragonda took the control stick off Griselda and switched the television off.

"Oritel and Marion should have known better than to let an official on a talk show. Now they're allowing room for all kinds of experts to politicize the issue."

"I don't think so, it's just the people coming up with all this nonsense and blowing it out of proportion. But I told you it was bad." Griselda said with arms crossed. "Would you like me to follow up my suggestion on clamping down on the mindless gossip on the subject within our campus? Too many students have been using it as a convenient excuse to–"

"Griselda, just do what you have to. The royal family of Domino deserves at least some respect to be enforced during this difficult time." the Faragonda sighed, massaging her temples. With a nod, her assisting headmistress left the office.

Faragonda shook her head, imagining how much Griselda was probably pleased with herself. She knew Griselda jumped at every opportunity to tighten discipline on their students. Within reason of course.

But it was only a matter of time before the storm of speculation blew over, and life reverted back to its usual mediocrity.

She could only hope no one did something regretful in the meantime.

A strange dread hung over the capital city of Domino. It's warm and strangely pleasant air of the deepening evening could not ease the loss.

Deep within the palace complex itself the Crown Princess' personal servants muttered quietly amongst themselves, uncertain on how to manage the situation. As concerned as they were they had to remain at the gates. No one else apart from the current Royal Family and the Kadmos clans were allowed in the palace crypts.

Alone in the dimly lit cavernous halls a darkly draped figure mourned over a newly erected tomb. It was rather simple compared to the other more decorative sepulchres. But for the grieving Crown Princess it held far too much meaning and pain for her.

Daphne stroked the hard sable her sister's grave still trying to process how the tragedy had come to be.

She still remembered the raw dread that tore inside her heart as a panicked lady-in-waiting contacted Domino's royal travelling party about Bloom's unexplainably deteriorating health.

And already then events played out suspiciously. As alleged criminal bombings rocked Magix City Daphne and her parents, who were originally on royal business there, were kept under close guard out of fear for their safety. And no matter how hard Daphne or her parents argued the soldiers were unrelenting in letting them leave. She panicked further when they lost touch with their home planet entirely. And things only became worse.

By the time they had managed to rush back to Domino, it was too late.

Not only had Bloom died she had been buried with apparently no ceremony. A small notice had been put out immediately at Bloom's demise as was custom. But it wasn't until either the third or fourth announcements that her people and the rest of the Magical Dimension began to take notice of what had actually occurred. And for a short amount of time the very people in the palace who had seen her die lost track of where they had prepared her body for burial. It even became disputed whether or not her sister had been buried at all.

Daphne, more than her parents was outraged. Amidst the confusion she understandably refused to believe in her sister's demise.

It was only when her mother had come out of the crypt supported by her father and weeping that Daphne had little choice but to accept that her sister was truly gone.

She clenched her fists. There was no doubt in her mind that someone had manipulated events to hide the truth. And as much as she mourned her loss Daphne knew it was her duty to search for the truth.

"Bloom I don't understand what has happened." Daphne whispered laying a last kiss on the gravestone. "But I will not stop until I find out what…or who is responsible for this."