Chapter 40

I, AryaTheElfQueen, give permission to mlb998 to copy this chapter into her book.

Stella watched her mother laugh, wondering whether or not it was to trick them. She suddenly felt compelled to laugh along with her, smiling until her cheeks hurt. She turned to see all her siblings laughing, and a glimmer of hope sparkled up in her heart.

But what if she really is bad? A doubt bubbled up from inside her, muttering cruel words under its breath.

Leo didn't seem to catch onto her thoughts. Maybe Stelliana is working a spell on them?

Once they all stopped the random bursts of happiness, Stelliana spoke.

"My children, I have waited so long for this moment. All I had of you were memories and the occasional vision. Thank you for saving me." Stella couldn't help but notice the quick glance directed at Glacia and Aquilo. They looked a little out of place because, well, they had no pets like the rest of Stella's siblings. Emelicia had settled on Stella's shoulder and had her eyes fixed on Stelliana. "What are those unsure faces for, my loves?" Stelliana asked, suddenly looking concerned.

"Uh...It's just...strange to have our mother back." Briar said quickly as her kitten kneaded it's paws uneasily on her shoulder, and everyone else nodded. Stelliana cast Leo and Stella a skeptical look.

Leo, what do you think? She asked her twin.

What do you mean, what I think? He thought back.

Do you think she's evil or not?

I think we'll have to wait and see.

Stella had to agree. In the corner of her eye, she saw something fly into Stelliana's hand.

Did you see that? She asked Leo.

What!? He shot at her, sounding exasperated.

Something just...oh never mind.

"Alright, everyone, where to?" Stelliana asked.

"Galvano, right?" Coventina piped up, sounding hopeful.

"Yes, my little sweet pea." Stelliana said, beaming at her even though she wasn't her daughter. There went another glance at Glacia and her brother. The two looked over at Stella for guidance, but she just shook her head.

"Act like you don't notice." She whispered when Stelliana turned away. Glacia cast a glance at Aquilo then nodded.

It seemed a little easier when she had been instructed by Owl to go save Stelliana. Suddenly she remembered something.

The man who had been blowing bubbles, or Uncle John, who had stayed in that snowy city with the beautiful gates, had given her a map at the very beginning. She quickly searched her pockets and found a slightly crumpled piece of paper. Strangely enough, her orb wasn't there. That's what flew into her hand! She realized with a start. She unfolded it and looked at the bottom left corner of the map. That's where he told me I would start.

She drew her finger over the map to the top right corner. He said I would end here.

But, she had ended up finding her mother in the East, where the cliff was. She looked across the group and met the person - who was not her mother - with a hard gaze.

"Well, well, Stella. What do you have there?" The women purred. Stella shied away when she tried to take the map.

"You're not my mother. You took my orb." She growled. Emelicia chirped something like "Finally, someone realizes something important."
"I am your mother, and I didn't take your orb, now please give me the map."

"No! Uncle John said that I would find you in the top right corner of the map. Okay, so I found my siblings, and I had to go a little off track, but then someone told us to follow the compass and we never made it there." Stella said quickly, earning many surprised looks from her siblings.
"Fine, if you won't give it to me on your own free will, I will take it." She hissed. Shadows started spiraling inward towards her, no, him. Galvano. And he had her orb.

"Leo! Give me the thing Uncle John gave you!" She ordered. The shadows started tracing a long black cape on his shoulders.
"Right!" He scrambled to get the strange crystal out of his pockets and quickly handed it to her. She tossed it into the air and everything blurred away, including Galvano and Obelia.
Suddenly she was standing in the city of Caluroso. She knew it because of the gate made of snowflakes right behind her and her siblings. A figure was standing in front of one of the houses and looked up from his book.

"Uncle John!" Stella cried out and started running towards him.

Hey everyone! This is AryaTheElfQueen, but call me Arya. Let me put it briefly, I'm a nerd who loves, well, books(duh). Check out some of my works. One of them is called 'Winged Warriors', which is a book I would like to add to the legends for the Warriors. Don't forget my other book, called 'Gloria'. Thank you for reading his chapter, hope you enjoyed it. ^-^