I, NoctisAlae, give MLB998 permission to copy this chapter into her book, Writing Game. It may not be used by anyone else or in any other location.

Stella glanced up at Teriana's glad cry.

"Vulpes! You're back!"

Teriana's fox, Vulpes, trotted quickly into the group of siblings. Then, to everyone's amazement, he opened his mouth and started to speak.

"You have to hurry! Glacia and Aquilo aren't actually as evil as we all believe them to be. I was listening in on Glacia's thoughts---"

"Wait, wait, wait. You were listening in on her thoughts?" Stella asked.

"Yeah!" exclaimed Teriana, "Isn't he great? He can use the power of my orb to glance into the minds of other people through their orbs."

"Anyway, Glacia believes that Stelliana is an evil spirit who is tricking us all into freeing her. Galvano has brainwashed both of them into thinking that Stelliana is just trying to gain power and that she has cursed all those who feel evil emotions to remember only what she decides."

Briar gasped. "That's horrible. We have to do something to help them."

"But, what if they're right?"

Everyone's heads snapped around to glare at Acorus.

"Hey, it's just something to consider. I mean, the only thing we know about our mother is what we have heard and the letters and gifts she has left us. Maybe she is just trying to manipulate us."

Stella's heart cracked at the thought that the woman she had idolized since she learned about her could possibly be evil.

She shook her head.

"I can't believe that. Why would all of the people who knew her lie to us? The entire race of columans adore her. The Champion of Lady Wind herself even vouched for our mother, and said that she was also a champion. And just look at how she has cared for us. No, she must be good. How could she be anything else?"

Despite Stella's bold words, a tiny seed of doubt had been planted deep in her mind, and regardless of her efforts, she could not dislodge it.

"Come on guys, let's go find them," Coventina chirped.

Acorus's wolf began to track Glacia and Aquilo with his strong sense of smell, and the children followed along behind. Finally, the wolf led them to a dark cave that reeked of sulfur. Stella peered into it, looking for any trace of her siblings. A small light glimmered deep inside. Taking a deep breath, Stella stepped forward into the cave. The light grew and grew until she could tell that it came from Glacia and Aquilo's orbs.

"Glacia? Aquilo? Are you here?"

Aquilo sat up with a snort.

"What are you doing here? Get out now!"

Glacia rubbed her eyes as the shouting pierced through the veil of sleep.

"Aquilo? What's going on?"

"These brats found us somehow. Get ready to fight, Glacia."

"No, wait. We don't want to fight you. We want to show you that Stelliana is really a good person, not the evil spirit you think she is. Please, just listen."

Aquilo scoffed. "Nothing you say will change our minds."

"Let us show you then. We will rescue Stelliana and see for ourselves."

Aquilo and Glacia looked at each other.

"Alright, fine. We will help you to rescue her, and then you will know beyond a doubt that she is the most evil and manipulative being that you have ever known. It will be easier to defeat her once she is in the same dimension as us, after all."

"And we will have you to help us fight her, because once you see what a monster she is you will realize that we are right and you will join us in our fight for good."

"Very well. You help us and if Stelliana is evil then we will fight against her alongside you. But, if we discover that she is good, then you will give up you ideas of violence and join us and our mother in defeating Galvano and his cronies."

"Okay," Glacia agreed. "Let's go to that cliff then."

Coventina piped up from the back of the group.

"What about our biggest challenge? We are supposed to have yet to face it."

All eight siblings looked at each other in surprise.

"I-I think we just did actually," Stella said slowly. "We all had to learn to compromise and work together so that we could use our orbs to rescue our mother."

Silence fell for several minutes as the children regarded each other. Stella could feel her bond with her siblings, which had been damaged after Glacia and Aquilo's revelations, strengthening again. She was grateful, and knew that it would help her and her brothers and sisters to stick together no matter what their mother was like.

The group set off towards the cliff mentioned in the letter. At the start of their journey, Stella noticed that Glacia and Aquilo walked by themselves, distanced from the group. Gradually, they drifted closer, encouraged by Coventina's happy chatter. By the time the group reached the cliff, the two were completely integrated, if a little reserved.

The noise died down as everyone thought about what they were about to do. This would be a life-changing moment, something they could never turn back from. This would be the moment in which their mother was proven to be either evil or good. Emotions were all over the place, so strong that the orbs began to vibrate with the tension. Fear. Anger. Anxiety. Joy. Anticipation. They arranged themselves into a circle, and simultaneously took a deep breath. They raised their orbs above their heads, and waited while Coventina bounced up and down on the sidelines.

Each of the seven orbs lifted into the air and slowly they began to spin. Faster and faster they went, whipping the air until Stella felt like she was standing in the middle of a hurricane. Light started to grow in the center of the circle, shining brighter and brighter as the orbs picked up speed. With a bang, it burst through and the winds stopped as each orb dropped into its owner's hand.

A glowing portal was left hanging a few inches above the soft grass, and a woman's figure could barely be seen. It grew more and more distinct, and Stella leaned forward to get a better view. She stepped out onto the clifftop, her honey-blonde hair catching the sun's golden rays. Glittering brown eyes looked out over the children surrounding her and a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. Raising her arms, Stelliana burst into laughter.

Hi, I'm NoctisAlae. I know these messages can get a little tedious, so I'll try to keep it brief. Basically I'm a huge bookworm; I wish I could just read and write all the time. My interests are all over the place, and I love to try new things. I'm working on a couple books right now, with ideas for many more. I love writing prompts as well, so if you have an awesome topic that you wish had a story about it, let me know and maybe I'll write you one! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and maybe it will make you want to go check out my profile :)