Hi loyal readers! Super sorry for the delay in uploading another chapter. I have been away for work for a few weeks but I am back and soon will be on holidays where hopefully I will have time to write another chapter.

I would like to dedicate this story to a number of amazing fans: Kerfluffle, MinzyV, ImhereforMR, heyitsamd, Elieza Mae Forever Winx, Solleone, SunshinewithHurricane and KawaiifulPanda.

Thank you for everyone's support and love for this story. It means a lot!

Merry Christmas!


Tecna stared at the rebel in shock. She had never in her life been speechless until then. There were signs, Tecna thought. Musa's dress being one of the key ones. She wanted to smack herself in the face. The signs were right there, in every subtle thing they read or saw. Looking back on it, they were clear as day.

"Queen Miranda was Melodian," the rebel repeated in a gentle tone.

"I….but…..I have so many questions," Tecna stuttered. "If….if Queen Miranda was Melodian, why treat her people like this?"

The rebel shrugged his shoulders. "We had resources that the Valkarians needed once theirs dried up. Melodian rebels murdered their queen. Drunk on power. Pick one for any could be the reason but we do not know. One thing we do know is that once the queen passed away, all mention of her was wiped from the history books. The king was destroyed, heart-broken, and angry."

"Are you telling me the king had a heart?" Tecna scoffed. "He is cold and ice in the centre."

"He is now but he was not back then. As I said, the Valkarians were peaceful until the queen died. It changed the king and his people. They were loyal to the king and queen and wanted vengeance. Who were they to go against the king when they saw that he was going to give them the vengeance they sought?"

"How did a Melodian even meet a Valkarian?"

"Lady Miranda was the daughter of a high noble family in Melody and, as such, was part of Queen Matlin's court. She was also her best friend."

"Her best friend? So, Queen Matlin knew King Kataar before the invasion?" Tecna gasped.

The rebel nodded. "Queen Matlin and King Ho-Boe attended their wedding on Valkaris."

"But he murdered our queen!"

"Grief, anger and betrayal can make a dangerous cocktail, particularly in a man who was new to the kind of love that she brought. At the time, Princess Matlin attended a ball at Valkaris with her. It was a ball for Prince Kataar."

"His inauguration ball," Tecna finished in surprise.

"Correct. Lady Miranda attended the ball as the princess' guest."

"She wore the black gown. That is what caught the king's attention," Tecna rambled softly. "The photograph I saw in the books, his face was so full of love. It is hard to imagine it, but the king had love at first sight."

"Princess Matlin had the royal seamstress prepare two dresses for that night, one for Princess Matlin that was a high neck purple gown, and the other was the Valkarian soon-to-be queen's signature dress; a Melodian style dress made of Valkarian black velvet."

"Why did Queen Matlin not wear the Melodian/Valkarian dress? A dignitary of her stature would have made a good impression if wearing the mix culture dress."

"From the text that the rebellion found in Magix, Princess Matlin wore a Valkarian necklace that was gifted from Prince Kataar's parents with the gown, so Lady Miranda got the dress. They both showed high respect. If Princess Matlin was not already engaged to Sir Ho-Boe, I am sure she would have found someone that night as the pair outshone all the ladies at the ball."

"Why did you not tell the princess, or I, the true origins of Queen Miranda?"

"How would knowing the truth change things?" the rebel asked. "Unfortunately, she is gone and cannot help us. She was great for Valkaris but her death also sparked this war. We have gained nothing from knowing the truth."

"We know more about why they are here, though."

"We have three theories and nothing more."

"We also know that Prince Riven could also posses magic! That is something important that the princess should have known!" Tecna yelled angrily.

"The rebellion has been observing the prince for years! He has displayed no signs of magic."

"But you said he could! If the princess went into battle against the prince, there is the risk that he could have magic! She has currently lost hers! She would be at a high disadvantage."

"As I am sure you are aware, Miss Tecna, in most realms in the magical dimension, magic is passed down between females, unless the father is a wizard. Prince Riven is not a wizard."

"He could be though thanks to his Melodian mother!"

"Impossible!" the rebel yelled. "He does not posses magic. You can assure the princess of that."

"Then…..then does the prince know about his mother? We can use that against him. Use it to get his sympathy, get him to our side quicker."

"You cannot use the prince's mother against him."

"Why not? It is a good battle strategy."

"King Kataar has kept many things secret from the prince for his mother died when he was a small child. Continue with your plan at present."

"You cannot give us orders. Princess Musa gives you orders."

"No, Miss Tecna, I take orders from the rebel leader. Do not forget that we are on your side and if we continue to fight amongst ourselves then this war will have already been lost."


Tecna dreaded the conversation she was going to have with Musa the minute she got back. She managed to arrive in time to help Musa get ready for another dinner with Prince Riven and King Kataar. As expected, Musa kept insisting that Tecna tell her the findings but Tecna insisted that it could wait until after the dinner. Eventually, Musa agreed and was escorted to dinner by Sir Caelum.

A few hours later, Musa returned, stating that the prince had missed dinner. It was the first time that the prince had ditched them and, if it were not for the fact that Sir Caelum and Sir Hammon were in the room, Musa would have jumped out the window. Musa did mention that the king seemed indifferent to her, simply mumbling a few words while looking over important papers. That behaviour was better than his cruelty or hurtful remarks. She was happy to eat her dinner and be ignored by the king.

Unfortunately, Musa was ready to hear the news from Tecna. Tecna kept side stepping around the issue, trying to prolong the inevitable hurt she knew would follow but Musa was annoyingly convincing. So, Tecna sat Musa down and told her what she discovered. It did not go down well. Musa cried. She was distraught, confused, hurt, angry, but most of all betrayed. If the king had married a Melodian, why would he treat her people so horribly? Tecna just comforted her friend, ran her a bath to calm down, and helped her to bed. She knew that she left that night knowing that Musa had cried herself to sleep but there was nothing she could do. At least they had another answer to a question, but it did just bring up other questions in its wake.

It took a few days for Musa to fully comprehend the magnitude of Tecna's intel. She passed the shock and grief stage, and was now at anger. She was angry at King Kataar for his hypocrisy, she was angry at the rebellion for keeping things from her, and she was angry for Queen Miranda. Musa knew that her own people did not kill her. Their own people did not deserve this punishment, particularly when unprovoked. She would clear their name one way or another. She believed the rebel, though, that the prince did not display magical abilities. She would have heard or seen something by now.

By the end of the week, Musa's anger turned healthy and used it to fuel the fire within her for the rebellion. The anger did not dissipate though when she noticed the prince no longer escorted her to the library. Sir Hammon and Sir Caelum took on the role. Was not the escort duties supposed to be the prince's punishment for Sir Jet? Perhaps he managed to convince his father that he had suffered enough.

That Sunday afternoon, Musa sat at her usual desk going through a new book she found on the third floor of the library, Sir Hammon quietly watching her from the other side of the room. Her time in the library was almost up when the double doors suddenly opened and Sir Caelum and a new recruit in the prince's team appeared. The new man was slightly shorter than Sir Caelum with hazel eyes. Musa was unable to see any other features due to the ridiculous helmet covering his head for their initiation.

"Lady Musa," Sir Caelum said, clearing out of breath from running. "There are some guests that have arrived, and the king requests your presence."

"Guests?" Musa said confused.

"Yes," Sir Caelum replied. "The king does not like to be kept waiting."

Musa blinked away her confusion, gathered her books, and walked over to the pair of knights. Sir Hammon asked the new recruit to take the books to Musa's quarters, and Sir Hammon and Sir Caelum escorted Musa to the throne room.

"May I ask who the guests are?" Musa asked politely. The pair of knights did not respond. "May I ask who the new recruit is?"

"Sir Lance," Sir Hammon answered in a monotone.

"Oh," Musa said with a smile. "Seems like a capable warrior."

"He is," Sir Hammon replied again.

"There are a few new recruits in His Highness' battalion," Musa commented.

"No," Sir Hammon sternly. "They are new to you since the prince needed new knights to fill Sir Jet's place."

"Oh, I apologise for my error."

The trio continued to the throne room in silence after that. As they got closer to the room, echoes of voices were heard. Musa thought she heard feminine voices as well. Soon, the doors to the throne room opened and the knight on the other side announced Musa's presence. As instilled in her, Musa immediately curtseyed low to the floor without looking at the guests in the room.

"Ah, Siren," King Kataar said joyfully. "Right on time. Rise."

Musa rose to her feet and her eyes almost bugged out of her face when she saw her beloved friends standing on the other side of the room.

"The delegates from Solaria, Linphea, Sparx, and Tides have arrived with important news. Apparently, you have been sending them letters asking them to weed out Melodian rebellions on your behalf. Is this true?"

"Ah…." Musa was shocked. She had no idea what he was talking about and from the tone of his voice, she had no idea if it was good or bad. Musa subtly looked over at her friends, who were slightly nodding their heads. "Yes, Sire."

The King stared into Musa's eyes for a few moments, trying to find any hints of lies. Luckily, Musa had perfected hiding her true intentions from the king over the years. Despite seeing the coldness in his stare, Musa did not cave. Soon, the king started laughing and slapped his knee.

"Well, colour me surprised, Siren," the king laughed. "Your siren call appears to be good for something."

"Your Grace," Stella began with a sickly-sweet voice. "Lady Musa informed us of her studies, she takes them very seriously."

"As we discussed," Layla added. "She told us that she wants to prove herself to you that she has seen the light. She is Valkarian and she has been keeping an eye out for signs of rebellion and has asked us to do the same."

"We are your allies, Your Highness," Bloom said with a tight smile. "We wanted to help you and Lady Musa."

"So," the King said with a smirk. "I hope you have good news if you went out of your way to visit in person."

"Yes Sire," Bloom answered. "We heard there was a small protest on Dolona, protesting His Highness' rule over Melody."

"I see…." The King said displeased. "Then a visit is in order."

"We quickly remedied the situation, Your Highness" Flora quickly added.

"Yes," Layla added. "As guardians, we visited the realm on His Highness' behalf. There are no more protestors, and no one heard their message, Sire. We have shown them the light."

"So, there is no rebellion?" The King asked suspiciously.

"No Sire," the women all answered.

"Very well, well done, ladies," the king complemented. "Valkaris and Melody owe you a thanks. Nice to see our alliance still holds."

"Of course, Sire," Stella said with a smile. "The alliance holds."

Musa could not help but notice the subtle smirk Stella sent her way when she said that. An alliance, yes, but not the one the king thinks.

"What about the rebellion here?" A voice chimed in.

The girls were shocked to see the tall figure of Darcy step out of the shadows and lean against the king's chair.

"A…..a rebellion here?" Stella stuttered. "What rebellion?"

Darcy smirked at the ladies and looked down at the king. "From what I hear in the shadows, Sire, is that a new rebellion is stirring within Melody. The Winx may have stopped it from spreading outside our realm, but they did not stop it here."

"Impossible!" King Kataar growled. "There is to be no rebellion!"

Musa started to get nervous. Everything was going so well.

"Get me my son!" the king ordered.

Sir Hammon and Sir Caelum immediately ran out of the room to get the prince.

"Your Highness," Layla began trying to calm the situation. "I assure you that there is no rebellion."

"How would you know?" Darcy questioned with a smirk. "Do you live here?"

"Um….no, Madam Darcy," Layla answered.

"That's what I thought. I heard whispers in the shadows. People are hiding something, and I want to know what."

Suddenly, the doors to the throne room opened again and Prince Riven's presence was announced. The prince quickly bowed to his father and scanned the room with interest.

"You summoned me, Father?" Riven greeted, clearly annoyed at the sudden summons.

"Darcy says there is a rebellion in my realm!" King Kataar growled.

The prince was silent for a moment, staring at his father almost assessing the situation.

"Guards!" King Kataar growled. "Restrain the Siren!"

Two of the king's personal guards stepped forward and grabbed either side of Musa and dragged her to the centre of the room before the king.

"Sire," Bloom gasped, trying to fix the situation. "This is not necessary."

"This is my realm!" King Kataar yelled at Bloom. "I decide what is necessary. Darcy has heard whispers of a rebellion, my son does not deny it, then they need to be squashed. The only way that is done is by showing them what happens to their Siren when they disobey me."

"I never said there was one," Prince Riven said loudly but clearly bored with the dramatics.

The room went silent at the prince's response. Darcy's body tensed at hearing him contradict her. The king held up his hand to signal his men to hold, and leant forward to stare directly at his son.

"There were only two instances of whispers in the entire realm," Prince Riven continued. "Those are the ones Darcy heard. They were brought to my attention and have already been dealt with."

"Where?" the king said angrily. "Where were they?"

"They were mere drunks, Father," the prince answered with an eye roll. "What they said on their drunken tirade was hardly worthy of being called a rebellion. They merely said you should get off your throne and exercise."

The King and Darcy stared at Riven like he poured hot coffee on their laps, particularly when they stood on their feet and sent death glares at him. The prince merely stood nonchalant next to Musa with his hands behind his back.

"No rebellion, Father," the prince reiterated. "The dramatics are hardly necessary."

"Then why did you not tell me? I had to hear it from Darcy."

The prince shrugged. "Forgive me, Father, but you were the one who put me in charge of finding all sources of rebellion and handling them myself. I thought drunken idiots would waste your time."

The king slowly sat back down in his throne and grumbled. The Winx looked between the prince and the king in confusion and shock. They were so close to blowing everyone's cover. Layla wanted to scream her frustration for she had owed their success to the prince, who does not even know he helped them.

"Very well," the king eventually said satisfied. "Darcy, keep an eye on the shadows and report all…whispers….to my son."

"But Sire," Darcy began.

"Did I stutter?" the king threatened.

"No, Your Highness," Darcy replied. "It will be done."

Darcy bowed to the king and reluctantly to the prince before she disappeared back into the shadows. The Winx looked at each other with concern for they all silently agreed that Darcy was going to be trouble for them and their plan. The king dismissed the guards with his hand, and they released Musa. Musa wanted to release a sigh of relief, but she knew the role she had to play.

"Well done, Siren," King Kataar said. "I see a Valkarian in you. I am surprised by your loyalty."

"Thank you, Your Highness," Musa replied softly and with another curtsey.

"Winx," the king continued. "Continue to monitor further signs of rebellion and extinguish them."

"Yes, Sire," the Winx answered with curtseys.

"As a reward for your loyalty, Siren," the king said looking back at Musa. "You are free to roam the castle without escorts, however, you are forbidden from entering the throne room, dungeon and other people's quarters without an escort. Am I understood?"

"Yes, Your Highness," Musa immediately answered with another curtsey. "I am grateful for your generosity."

"Do not make a fool out of me," King Kataar threatened.

"I would never dream of it, Sire," Musa answered.

Layla had to pretend to sneeze to hide her smirk, earning a slight nudge from Bloom.

"Prince Riven, do not embarrass me like that again. You are dismissed," the king ordered.

Without a word uttered, Prince Riven bowed to his father and left the throne room. The king then dismissed Musa and the Winx, stating that he had important meetings and left them to their own devises. Sir Hammon and Sire Caelum took their leave with the girls, with Sir Hammon stating that the pair would return to escort Musa to dinner. Musa had never felt so free in all her life. She could finally roam the castle on her own. No need to worry about escorts or watching her words, nothing. It was so liberating.

"That was close," Flora said with relief as the small group made it to Musa's secret garden.

"Way too close," Stella agreed, sitting down on the garden bench.

"I cannot believe we are indebted to that prince," Layla scoffed.

"Technically we are not indebted if he is unaware that he helped us," Tecna said.

The girls gasped and ran over to their friend, pulling her into a group hug.

"How did you know where to find us?" Musa asked.

Tecna gave a small smile to Musa after she pulled away from the hug.

"That new knight, Sir Lance, told me," Tecna answered.

"A knight told you, a servant, where to find us?" Bloom asked suspiciously.

"I thought it was odd too," Tecna admitted. "But considering I asked him when he gave me the books from Musa, and told me about your new freedom, I thought perhaps if the king believed you then the knights did too. I heard about the close call in the throne room."

"How did you girls even come up with that lie?" Musa asked. "What are you doing back here?"

"I asked the rebellion to," Tecna answered. "Musa, I know you are so strong but after everything you have gone through the last few weeks, I thought that having more allies, the people you trust, surround you would help."

"I have you," Musa said.

"Yes, but one friend is not enough. You need to be surrounded by more allies than friends so, with the girls expressing desire to do more in the rebellion, I asked my contact to have spies plant a lie."

"Tecna then told us the plan in one of her letters," Stella explained. "We can only be here for a short time, my father was hard to convince, but we are here to support you."

"Yes, just by convincing our realms to join is not enough," Flora said. "Even if some are harder to convince than others. We wanted to do more."

"So, we came to get you more favour with the king," Bloom added. "And it seems like it worked."

"What else are you doing for the rebellion?" Musa asked curiously.

"We are going to try to frequently visit," Layla answered. "Each time, we are going to smuggle some of our realm's warriors in."

"How can you hide them? We do not know when our battle will start," Musa said.

"They are prepared to stay undercover as long as it takes," Layla replied. "We are picking the best of our men. They will know how to hide, how to stay low, and they will find a hideout until then."

"Each time we will bring our men and they will go to the hideout until it is time. Some will even go undercover in the cities," Bloom said. "They will seek out Melodians capable of fighting."

"But the rebellion could take months! They cannot be expected to wait that long," Musa said.

"Musa," Tecna began softly. "They technically are not being smuggled in for the final battle, they are being smuggled in for the battle to free you."

"What?" Musa gasped. "I do not understand."

"The girls and I discussed it," Flora began. "And we all agree that for the final battle, the real rebellion, should have you at the forefront with your magic back. For that, we need to free you and your father first and take you back to the rebellion headquarters."

"On Magix?" Musa said in shock.

The girls nodded their heads. "We cannot risk losing you, Musa," Stella said. "We have to free you first, regroup and get you trained and ready, then come back in force for the big showdown."

Musa was shocked to hear the true rebellion plans. She had not thought further than getting military intel from the prince. She was glad she had friends like them. They were putting themselves in danger for her.

"I do not know what to say," Musa said speechless.

"You do not need to say anything," Flora said with a smile. "We are your friends. We would do anything for you."

"Yes, but you are volunteering to smuggle warriors into my realm at the risk of death to you and your people."

"The universe will not be safe until King Kataar and Darcy are removed from power," Layla said. "It is our duty to protect the magical dimension and maintain balance."

"Does that mean you smuggled warriors this time?" Musa asked.

"No, it was too risky," Stella answered. "We needed to get the king's guard down first otherwise it would raise suspicions."

"Thank you," Musa said, wiping a tear from her eye. "I am so grateful to have friends like you."

"You never need to thank us, Musa," Tecna said.

Musa ended up spending the entire afternoon with the Winx talking and laughing as they walked around the gardens, free of spying eyes or ears dropping knights. Before they left for their shuttle back to Magix, to their own realms, the group enjoyed afternoon tea. There, Musa updated the girls on her progress with the prince and seeing the changes following Sir Jet's attack. She also informed them of Queen Miranda's heritage.

They were shocked at how quickly Musa had made progress, but they also knew how good of an actor she had become. Musa walked them to their escort at the front of the castle and waved them off before heading to dinner with the king. Surprisingly, Prince Riven finally turned up but it was like he was back to his old self. He sat at the table and barely spoke a word. The only time he did was when he answered a question from his father. He had never looked at Musa through the entire evening. Musa was annoyed at herself for losing control of her emotions for it seemed like the prince had reverted back to his old self.


The next morning, Musa and Tecna were enjoying their breakfast, particularly Tecna who was able to sit at the table with her friend now that their escorts were gone. They both felt a small weight lift from their shoulders. It was a small victory but a victory none the less. Following breakfast, the pair started exploring the castle. Tecna had a notepad and pencil with her, making a small map of the palace so Musa could relearn her old home. Of course, they made sure to avoid the excluded areas the king mentioned. Musa hoped that she would see her father one day and prayed that he was still healthy.

After about an hour of exploring, shouting was heard echoing down the second floor of the castle. Curiosity got the better of them and the pair headed down the stairs to search for the source. Clanging of swords and men laughing soon followed as the pair headed down the stairs and to the end of the long hallway. Musa could not help but notice small rooms filled with old weapons in need of repair, pieces of armour waiting for polishing, and small rooms with mats lying on the floor.

Soon, the pair came across a large gymnasium type room filled with sports equipment on one side and fake weapons made of wood on the other. Large foam mats lied all over the floor and there, standing in the centre, was Prince Riven and a group of men.

They all wore the Valkarian training uniform and Musa could not help but notice how young the recruits were. What really stood out to her, though, was the fact that none of them wore their helmets, compared to the two recruits Musa had met. Perhaps these men had already passed initiation?

"Men," Prince Riven said authoritatively. "If you pass today's challenge, you will be rewarded with your very own sword."

The men in front of Riven cheered happily.

"These swords, as well as your uniforms, will contain crystals. I do not need to remind you the importance of this."

"Why are crystals on uniforms important?" Tecna whispered.

"I have no idea," Musa replied. "Maybe it is an empowerment thing?"

"I should also not have to remind you that the crystals cannot and should not encounter a Melodian. Many will try to steal them. Do not let them."

"I have never heard of Melodians stealing the crystals from knights," Musa whispered.

"Neither have I," Tecna replied.

"The crystals hold a special meaning to the Melodians. They see us wearing them as dishonour to their beliefs. His Highness, however, sees them as spoils of war. Wearing them gives us pride. Wearing them reminds us those we have lost in battle."

"We should have put a bet on our theories," Musa joked at seeing her being right.

"If you are found to have lost your crystal, or that it is in the hands of a Melodian, the punishment will be severe. Under no circumstances is a Melodian to have a crystal."

"Yes Sir," the men answered.

Prince Riven turned from his men and walked over to the weapons handing from the other side of the wall. Before taking one, he peeled off his white shirt, exposing his bare torso to his men. Musa's eyes bugged out of their sockets at seeing all the rippling muscles covering the prince's entire arms, back, and chest. There was a huge part of Musa that wanted to drool, and she forgot for a moment that he was a Valkarian.

'But he is also part Melodian….' A voice said to her in mind.

The prince then took a large sword from the top of the weapons shelf and unsheathed it.

"Now, all you have to do to pass your test," the prince began, then turning to face his men giving Musa and Tecna a great view of his muscles. "You have to defeat me."

The men started cheering and laughing, shoving each other to see who would go first.

"Musa," Tecna whispered clicking her fingers in front of Musa's face.

"Sorry, what?"

Tecna rolled her eyes. "Stop ogling the prince for a second. We should go."

"Why?"

"Firstly, we cannot get caught practically spying on their training session. Secondly, did you not hear what the prince said about the crystals? Part of their training session is to prevent Melodians having access to the crystals. Those crystals are more important than we realise if the Valkarians are desperate to keep them away from us. We have research to do."

Tecna softly walked away from the room, heading down the hallway. She turned and noticed Musa staring sadly at the half naked prince. Musa sighed, knowing Tecna was right, and followed her friend. Tecna was right, if the Valkarians were desperate to keep those crystals away from Melodians, then Musa was desperate to get them back.


So what did you all think? I hope it was worth the wait. As always, I would love to hear your thoughts.

Until next time!

~AngelAlexandra~