Yaay, I'm rapidly firing chapters bc I'm sick and I have the time haha.
Anyways let's answer some reviews as promised from the last chapter!
Eyah - Gone as in I haven't thought that far ahead HHAHAH I think he's dead...? As for how Stella escaped the castle...secrets secrets secrets (*′з`b). Hehe yes they took forever to find her but I don't think they were looking for her...at least not for 4 years you'll see what i mean hehe.
aisla - YESS there is a reason why hehe (possibly mentioned in this chappie)!
winxspecialist - nope I don't write ao3 i never rly got into writing on it but I am nose deep in Harry Potter fanfics on there hehe. I did write Wattpad a very long time ago but definitely not winx fanfics! Hmm strange i guess they deleted bc my brain stopped working and i never finished the original huhuhu. Nic being a girl would be pretty cute tho, can't imagine Brandon being a girl dad. (,,•o•,,)
Guest - LOLOL no...this chappie will make it make sense teehee! (⸝⸝ᵕᴗᵕ⸝⸝)
Guest - I've read Under The Oak tree! It's so cute but I kinda got a bit bored of it halfway through, the ml is so fineeee tho but the manhwa is just soft corn with somewhat of a story line...the actual novel is even worse...aaaaanyways =͟͟͞͞(꒪ᗜ꒪‧̣̥̇). BUT YES I DO IMAGINE BRANDON TO BE LIKE THAT ML IN TERMS OF PHYSIQUE HEHE.
Celcius - OH YEAH he's an actual asshole here, I'm not sure if you've read my other book His Everything (if you haven't then dont LOL) but I aim to make this Brandon the most insufferable character alive for at least 8 more chapters, each being worse than the last...Hopefully, I get the pacing right tho I'm not used to ever finishing a story...( 人 * ´ ∀ ｀ ) ｡ *
Everything from that night felt like a blur. She remembered his cold hand gripping her bicep in an attempt to yank her onto her feet but that was it before it all went black.
With a soft groan, Stella's eyes fluttered seeing the dim lights of the flame-lit walls pass by as her vision kept moving. She felt groggy and disorientated and the pain in her ankle had been reduced to a dull ache as her feet dragged along the floor.
She could feel the cold leather hands of two Drakari soldiers on either side of her, holding her firmly as they dragged her with them. She couldn't move her hands, bound tightly behind her and the feeling of a cold metal bind sat gripping her chest and midriff.
The sound of doors being shoved open echoed through the room as the soldiers continued to haul her in. The new room felt colder, somehow even more dimly lit than what she assumed was the corridor leading into it. Her body shifted upwards and her knees met the ground with a hard bite into the stone as she winced.
Events of last night began flooding in as she regained her consciousness. The attack, the base camp, Noah! Stella gasped, gazing around the room at the throng of eyes that peered back at her from along the walls. The room, lined with pillars holding dark green flames converged in front of her to the ominous black throne that sat towering in front of her.
Its sharp jagged edges rose to the ceiling, fanning out in a threatening fashion almost like damned souls reaching desperately for the heavens. The man who sat there made every hair on her body stand.
She never liked him even as a child. Every time she saw him, he wore the same sinister frown and emotionless face. She had heard tales about his conquers on the battlefield, his merciless tactics and his unparalleled strength in command. Stella always wondered how a bright, warm and loving man like her father could ever hold such a cold monster so dear to him.
Andreas Silver stood up, his presence sending waves into the room as the men standing idly on the side lowered their heads in respect. His dark brown eyes held an aura of pure evil as he stepped towards her restrained on the ground.
The closer his long strides neared her, the more Stella felt her body panic in fear despite her glare holding strong. He halted in front of her, lowering himself to meet her gaze and stare chillingly into her determined gaze,
"My, if it isn't Princess Stella, what a pleasant surprise," She felt sick just hearing the voice of a betrayer as his cold fingers gripped her chin and forced her to look at him, "I assumed you were dead. Just like your father,"
Stella gritted her teeth, struggling against her binds as Andreas gave her a scoff. He knew she was too entrapped in her own fear to speak against him. "But I'm glad to see you're alive, your highness. Because it seems you have stolen something from me,"
Stolen? She left with nothing that night of the massacre what could she have possibly taken?
He lifted her face higher, pulling her chin up, "And I'm going to need it back,"
Finding her voice, Stella gritted out, "I didn't take anything," Andreas' eyes darkened and his smugness lowered to a low sinister frown.
"The sun sceptre," He hissed venomously, "Where is it?"
It wasn't here? She distinctly remembered sneaking it out to practice her magic the morning of the coronation, but in that same memory – she put it back in its holding case before she retired to her chambers to get dressed.
"I don't have it," Stella replied with equal spite.
"Oh, Your Highness, you know as well as I do that one cannot claim the throne and its power without the sceptre," Andreas frowned, flicking Stella's face out of his grip as she turned her head to the side at the force. He stood up, walking a few paces away from her in frustration.
When new kings or queens ascend the throne, it must occur during what is known as the Tri-Solar Solstice. This celestial event happens when Solaria's 3 suns align at their most northerly excursion and their collective light passes through the kingdom. The Sun Sceptre, a product of this holy alignment must be presented by the Crowned monarch as the light passes through it to gain the power of the throne and the kingdom.
It only occurs every 4 years. Stella's coronation was the last time and its next occurrence was 6 months from now. Andreas couldn't truly usurp the throne of the most powerful planet in Magix without the sceptre and he would be unstoppable.
"So, I'm going to ask you again, your highness. Where is the sceptre?" He gritted out ominously and Stella continued to hold his threatening gaze despite every fibre of her being wanting to shiver and panic.
"I. don't. know," She spat and Andreas gritted his teeth, moving his body towards her and drawing his blade in wrath. Despite begging herself not to give in to the pain, the blade that pierced right into her shoulder was too much to bear. Stella screamed as Andreas grabbed her jaw, forcing her tear-stained face to meet his emotionless sick gaze.
"Where is the sceptre, your highness? Speak and I will grant you the mercy of a quick death," he mocked coldly.
Stella panted, the pain becoming unbearable as he pulled the dagger out of her fresh wound. She could see it in his shallow emotionless brown eyes, he was going to kill her either way, "I don't fucking know. Even if I did know, I'd rather die than hand it over,"
Andreas's jaw clenched, his sharp gaze sweeping the room at the men who stood idly by, watching his every move in silence, "Fine, then you are of no use to me," He said simply, bringing the blade right under her jaw. "This time, I'll make sure you stay dead," Stella closed her eyes, hoping for a clean cut somewhere painless to end it all.
She was willing to die with dignity knowing Andreas couldn't fully usurp the throne.
Before he could send the blade through her neck, the sound of the doors behind her being violently thrown open sounded and her heart leapt to her throat. Andreas halted mid-movement, his emotionless eyes following the end of the room where heavy footsteps were advancing towards him.
Andreas let go of Stella's jaw, raising himself as he walked back to his throne. She panted her body on high alert at the new presence that loomed ominously beside her.
She didn't need to see his face to know his aura.
"My lord," Brandon breathed, descending to one knee and dropping his head in respect. Andreas nodded and Brandon stood up, towering beside her dressed in a black paladin uniform. His cape hung behind him, sweeping the floor as it fastened to his chest with a glowing emerald gem.
"There is no point killing her – she is the sceptre," He sighed almost irritated at the circumstances. Stella's eyes widened as she gazed up at him in surprise but he didn't even bother meeting her gaze as he continued to focus on his father.
"Go on,"
"The Sun Sceptre resides inside the former princess, it only takes on a physical form when she transforms," He spoke lowly and Stella stared at the ground in shock. The sceptre is inside her?! It has been inside her for the last 4 years and she didn't even know!?
"How do you know this?" Andreas asked, almost identical to what Stella was thinking.
"During my team's mission to retrieve her, she blacked out – her transformation occurred under stress and revealed the sceptre. She seemed to fight thereafter purely subconsciously," Stella could barely believe what she was hearing. She transformed?! She couldn't even muster a simple levitation spell yet her body transformed with the sceptre in hand and she was unconscious the entire time.
Andreas scoffed as a sinister smirk etched across his face, "Then sacrificing her during the solstice should suffice,"
"The light must pass through the sceptre's finial in order to gain its power," Brandon frowned, "If she gets killed – there is no evidence to show the sceptre won't be lost with her, it is made of the sun's magic after all,"
A frustrated huff escaped Andreas and he turned around, sending the dagger he was holding before thrusting in their direction. Stella curled her body out of reflex, but Brandon stood exactly where he was, unmoving and stoic as the blade zipped right past his head, narrowly missing a pierce right into his eye.
"What do you suggest we do?" He snapped, slumping down on the seat of the throne.
Brandon sighed, shaking his head, "We can attempt to draw the sceptre out into its physical form," He continued coldly, "The sceptre forces her transformation when she is in danger but it is seemingly too weak to keep her form for long. This may be the same reason it can't take a physical form – it is too weak,"
For the first time since entering the room, Brandon's cold and emotionless eyes finally met Stella's. "She is too weak," He added making her heart clench in both despair and anger. Too weak?! She spent years training and fighting, yet he still considers her nothing more than some weak little princess.
Andreas growled out in irritation and rubbed the bridge of his nose, "Very well," he hissed begrudgingly, "I will leave her charge with you. Until you can bring me the sceptre, she will remain a prisoner in the castle. Is that understood High Commander?"
High commander. Brandon had taken his father's place in leading the military – he was now the high commander of Drakar.
Brandon lowered his head in submission, "Yes, my lord," He moved towards Stella's body, bounded and kneeling on the floor with her tattered combat suit drenched in her blood, old and fresh from her shoulder.
"And Brandon," Andreas added, his gaze dropping to a sinister look, "Do what you have to, by any means necessary,"
Stella panted, staring down at the blood dripping from her shoulder into a small puddle as she felt Brandon loom menacingly above her, "Yes my lord," He replied coldly and grabbed the metal band that was clasped around her midriff to keep her arms bound.
She winced, letting out a small, pained hiss that fell on deaf ears as he forced her to walk with him. She didn't have the energy to speak to him, much less even look at him as she stumbled beside his long strides.
She could barely make out the silhouette of another tall man, a few inches shorter than Brandon, leaning against the corridor wall. One leg propped up to support his weight as his arms crossed over his chest.
"Are we done here?" The man's voice was gruff, almost irritated as he walked closer. Stella could see his bright violet eyes staring at the high commander with unbothered energy.
"Ready the ship," Brandon murmured coldly, "We're leaving,"
"Thank god, this place gives the creeps every time I see it," He continued, running a hand through his magenta locks. Noticing Stella hanging from Brandon's grip, the man's eyes studied her face with a theatrics smirk.
"Hello, Your Highness, not such a whiny brat anymore huh?" He scoffed amusedly. She recognised his face, his striking hair and unique eyes, but he was a lot younger the last time she saw him. Good to know his snarky attitude still remained intact.
Riven Hale. He was the Silver Military's vanguard in training.
Stella gritted her teeth, struggling to hold down the pain from her bleeding shoulder, "Go to hell, asshole," She spat and his eyes darkened at her harsh words but his smug grin stayed on his face.
His expression flickered back up to the high commander standing in front of him with an unamused frown, "You're gonna have some fun, commander,"
"Take her back to the ship Riven, I need to deal with something first," Brandon murmured in irritation and Riven leaned his weight casually on one foot.
"We're taking her with us? Wouldn't it be easier just to kill her here?"
Brandon shot him a narrow-eyed glare, "Orders from the High Lord, she needs to be kept alive,"
Riven kissed his teeth in annoyance before wrapping his gloved hand around Stella's injured arm and yanking her out of Brandon's grip. Riven was much rougher and didn't have an ounce of sympathy for the blood drenching her suit from the knife wound.
Stella yelped, feeling the pain make her body throb, "Naw, did that hurt your highness?" Riven mocked and she glared at him with every fibre of anger in her body.
"Riven," Brandon snapped, making the vanguard straighten, "Alive I said," he gritted out and Riven sighed.
"Whatever you say, boss," He replied playfully. He dug into his pocket and pulled out a small capsule, one equipped with a needle at the tip. "Stay still your highness, this won't hurt a bit," he chuckled.
Stella struggled in his tight grip to attempt to escape the metal binds that wound her arms and hands together but it was futile. The soft sting pierced right into her neck and the drowsiness began to take immediate effect.
The last thing she witnessed with Brandon's ominous black cape swaying behind him as his dark figure rescinded away from her before her knees gave out.
I showed this to my editor and he goes "She has an avatar state" ꉂꉂ◟(˃᷄ꇴ˂᷅๑)༡
Anywaaaaays yay another character reveal woohoo! For all those Riven lovers out there, I hope I stuck to his original personality...or at least tried to. Riven is a certified loverboy, certified A-hole. Pls give me pointers if I didn't get his character right tho I'm always open to criticism!
I love how when I said it's a massacre everyone is gearing up for hell in Magix, this is gonna be great. Also raaah Brandon in a black paladin outfit (S6 specialist uniform) is soooooo hot, I just wanna strangle myself with his cape... 𓏗-𓏗
Lots of love,
Star