Chapter Two
'A stone for a stone'
Weeks passed by without a word spoken of the incident. Noticing her grandmother's watchful eye, Cynthia was even more reserved than usual. Her grandmother, Lady Rosamund, had been observing her closely as well as the egg. After no more outbursts from Cynthia, all signs seemed to point to the stone egg as the source of the problem. Still unsure of the cause, Lady Rosamund decided to get an expert to examine the stone.
As president of the Devon Corporation in the Hoenn region, no man on earth knew more about rocks than Mr Stone. He had spent years asking for permission to examine the infamous egg but to no avail. After the incident, Lady Rosamund felt she had no choice but to finally allow Mr Stone to examine the egg. Mr Stone wasted no time in making his way to Sinnoh, formerly known as Hisui, and decided to bring along his son Steven, wanting to slowly introduce his son to the family business knowing one day he would inherit it.
Finally arriving at the Magefyre Manor, Mr Stone and his son stepped out of their car and couldn't help but stare in awe at the manor. Such a grand appearance; they could only imagine what awaited them inside. Noting their arrival, Cynthia was called to be presented to the guests. Finally, face to face, Lady Rosamund introduced her: "Ah, Mr. Stone, please allow me to introduce my granddaughter, Cynthia." The young girl bowed her head to their guests.
"The honour is all mine, Lady Rosamund. Allow me to introduce my son and heir, Steven," Mr. Stone replied. Like Cynthia, Steven also bowed his head in respect.
"Oh please, call me Carolina," Lady Rosamund interjected with a warm smile.
After the formal introductions, the adults headed towards the vaults, while the children were told to go to the lake. Mr. Stone once again thanked Carolina for granting him access to the vault. Carolina slightly bowed her head and winced, which did not go unnoticed by Mr. Stone. Now having a greater understanding of the gravity of the situation, they remained silent until they reached the stone.
As Steven and Cynthia walked towards the lake, there was an unspoken connection between them. Both tried their best to avoid eye contact as they realised, they were both blushing. Even though they were just children now, something told Cynthia that Steven would become an important part of her life in the years to come.
After all these years, Mr. Stone was finally in front of the stone he had longed to study. As a professional, he remained stoic on the outside. Originally requesting to have the stone transported to Hoenn so it could be properly studied in the labs of Devon Corp, he relented for fear of losing the opportunity altogether. Despite the lack of equipment, he would do the best he could with what he was able to travel with. Carolina was not keen on the egg being taken away. She hoped Mr. Stone could examine the egg in the vault. She knew if nothing was found, there would be no choice but to allow the egg to be taken to Hoenn. She prayed this would not be the case.