~I, Enchanted_Gazer, give MLB998 permission to copy this chapter and use it in her book~

Chapter 41

Uncle John looked up in alarm, his book falling to the ground. 

"Stella! Leo! What are you doing here?" he asked them. His tone suggested he was worried at their early appearance, but also a tad relieved. "Have you found your mother yet?"

Stella shook her head. "It's just that," she said quickly. She faltered to find the right words to describe what had happened. 

"Stelliana turned out to be Galvano in disguise!" Leo piped up for her. Stella nodded quickly. 

"That crystal you gave Leo brought us here, but we don't have our orbs with us. Galvano took them!" 

Stella was breathing a little faster than normal. Her cheeks were flustered as she tried to recall everything that had happened as they staged their escape. 

"Calm down," Leo mind-said to her. Stella nodded. 

"You're right," she thought, "actually, you're not. We just released a deadly villain when we thought we'd be releasing our mother!" 

Stella looked behind her at all of her siblings. They looked concerned, and completely clueless. So they're not evil, she thought to herself. She shook her head. The whole ordeal had gotten very confusing. None of their pets were anywhere in sight, so Stella guessed they were left behind. 

Glacia and Stella exchanged glances, and Glacia stepped forward. 

"Uncle John," she started. She looked over at Stella, who nodded her on. "We just came from the cliff, where we were supposed to free our mother in the East."

"The East?" Uncle John stated, puzzled. 

"I realized we were in the wrong place when our mother turned into Galvano," Stella said. Uncle John nodded. 

"Which doesn't make any sense," Aquilo provided. "Galvano isn't evil, he helped us when we needed him."

Glacia nodded. 

Stella's head was starting to hurt. Was Stelliana the evil one or was it Galvano? Everyone had different sides to the story. It was too much to take in. She glanced at her twin, who shrugged. Apparently he had been listening in on her thoughts. 

Uncle John thought for a moment. His face looked weary and tired, but it lit up after his thinking. 

"I- I remember," he mumbled. Stella looked puzzled. 

"Pardon me?" she asked. The rest of her siblings stepped forward slightly, away from the snowflake gate, keen to hear what Uncle John had remembered. 

"Everyone has different bits and pieces to the puzzle, am I correct?" Uncle John asked. 

"What does a puzzle have to do with anything?" Teriana asked. Uncle John ignored her and he continued. 

"Glacia and Aquilo think that Stelliana is evil and Galvano is good, right?"

Aquilo and Glacia nodded. 

"Stella appears to be in the middle, and Leo doesn't seem to have a clue."

Stella laughed as she nodded. That was true. 

"Shut up," Leo said gruffly in her mind. That just made her laugh more. Uncle John cleared his throat. 

"Acorus, Briar, Teriana, and Coventina think Stelliana is good and Galvano is evil," he continued, not paying Leo and Stella any mind. 

"Right. . . " Acorus said as he stepped forward to join the group. Covie and Briar stepped forward alongside of Acorus. The siblings all stood united as Uncle John told them what he had remembered. 

"Your mother, Stelliana, was good. She was banished by two people, whom no one knew about except for me, your mother, and her parents. Now, Glacia and Aquilo, what exactly did Galvano tell you about Stelliana?" 

"That she modified everyone's memories to be what she wanted them to be," Aquilo said uncertainly. Uncle John nodded. 

"Your mother had two siblings, an older brother and younger sister. As I mentioned before, no one knew anything of those two siblings, as it was told that the two would grow to do unspeakable damage. So they were sent to the human world. The two found their way back, evil intentions shining through their evil hearts. Your mother's sister banished Stelliana to a deep part of this world, and took on her role. No one, not even the most powerful sorcerer, noticed the change. As a part of their plan, Galvano locked his youngest sister up, and the prophecy was created.

"Your final battle will be once you free your mother and fight against Galvano and their youngest sister. Any other fights between now and then will not be your last. They are merely a test of the prophecy's, to see if you really are ready," Uncle John concluded. 

"And you remembered all of this just now?" Covie asked, bewildered. 

"I knew it all along," Uncle John said. "It was locked up tight in a part of my brain, where I forgot about it. But you led me to it, and now I remember."

"Wait, but you said no one knew about the switch," Covie said. Stella glanced over at Covie, her eyes shining. 

"Yes, well, I knew your mother well enough to know it wasn't her. I eventually coaxed most of the story out of Galvano. He always liked me." 

"What was mother's sister's name?" Briar questioned. 

Uncle John smiled softly. "Annabella," he responded. 

As if on cue, the ground erupted and a man and woman appeared before them, the sliver in the ground sealing with a bright flash. 

"You've made your aunt and I very mad," Galvano roared. The woman Stella assumed was Annabella cracked a ghostly grin. 

"Nieces, nephews, I have to say, I won't regret this later," Annabella said evilly. 

She charged towards Stella and her siblings. 

They braced themselves for a blow, when suddenly, Annabella stopped as a steady marching sounded from behind Uncle John. 

Stella was about to ask Uncle John if he knew what the marching was, when he disappeared without leaving a trace behind him. 

Suddenly, Stella's world twisted. Gasping for air as the world flew around her, she fell to the ground with a thud.  

~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~

Hi everyone! Enchanted_Gazer here, but you can call be Gazer or Katelynn. 

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you liked it, head over to my profile! My current work in progress is Enchanted Meadow, a fantasy. Check it out if it interests you! Thanks! Bai!!