Someone was sent flying out of the doors of House Solarex, landing square on Aureate. It was Harmonia, who groaned. She seemed to be dazed.
"Harmonia—" Whatever Nicholas was going to say next was cut off once he spotted the figure responsible for Harmonia's little tumble. It was somebody Aureate didn't know, somebody Stelora had left behind, and somebody Nicholas thought he would never see again. Somebody he never wanted to see again.
~+~
When Stelora made contact with the Amber of Energy, she was consumed by a type of Cora she never expected. Cobolt had warned her about Corruption, but she had no idea it would be so.. brutal.
Stelora..
Then, her vision went all dark. When it lit up again, she was in an ethereal, dreamlike place where the sky and ground were made of the cosmos themselves.
Stelora..
It took the sunflower a moment to realize the voice was coming from her mind. Before she could reply, something tapped her on the shoulder, to which she jumped.
"Oh, my apologies, Stelora. I didn't mean to frighten you."
Stelora whirled around to see a yellow rose with a long robe. In her leaf blade, she gripped a tall wand with a white orb at the end. Her eyes glimmered a dark brown, and a warm smile adorned her face.
"Who are you?" Stelora demanded, undeterred by the stranger's friendly energy.
She almost seemed to be made of the stars themselves.
"My name is Elethea. I've been trapped inside of the Amber ever since the Enchantress locked me in," she said.
As much as Stelora wanted to say something, she was thrown off guard by the darkness seeping into the dreamlike realm.
Elethea noticed as well. "It's the Corruption." She shifted her wand into a defensive position. "Quickly, Stelora, I need you to accept the powers of this Gemstone, or else your Awakening won't go as planned."
Dark whispers were coming at her from all corners of her mind. "A..Awakening..?" Stelora managed, a leaf blade to her head. Elethea's voice was beginning to grow muffled. The only thing she could hear were the shadows.
~+~
"So.. she's a Gembearer?" Nicholas asked, standing at the edge of Stelora's bed. They were in Horizon Academy's nurse's office. Aureate used her natural sunflower healing abilities to get Stelora back in tip-top shape. Physically, at least.
Aureate stood over her, wearing a wistful expression. Pea, Harmonia, Flare, and the three sprouts, Smoke, Willow, and Cybrus, were all hovering around the entrance.
"I believe so," Aureate said. Luz took that as a cue to materialize. He allowed the others to see him, and from there, he began to speak.
"When Stelora initially touched the Amber of Energy, she did not have the right intentions. That is why she was overtaken by Corruption. However, the Gemstone still recognized Stelora as a bearer, so after the Corruption from her was purged, she reverted to her original gem form."
"I thought Corruption happens when someone touches a Gemstone they aren't meant for?" Pea asked from his position by the door.
"You aren't wrong," Luz turned to him, "but there are a few different ways Corruption can occur, with one of them being this."
Aureate enveloped Stelora's leaf blade with her own.
I'm so sorry I couldn't protect you.
"Princess..?" Harmonia approached her worriedly.
YOU ARE READING
Golden: The Collection
Fanfiction"Do you accept this humble burden?" Luz demanded. "The burden to protect those who cannot protect themselves?" The princess stood for a moment. Her senses were screaming at her to decline and go back to her normal life, but there was this voice. Thi...
