Hiiiii I'm so sorry I left you hanging!
Quite literally losing my marbles here, my degree is coming to an end and ya girl is going to no longer be a college girly in literally 10 days oh my god the reality is starting to settle...
I actually hated the first couple of years of my degree but now it's over soon and I'm sad :(
*turns off Bruno Mars playing in the background* Okay nvm I'm good. I also spent 8 hours today on one assignment sighhh.
Short chapter, I really want to address some comments too but anyway no chappie next Tuesday bc my research paper is due and I may be able to churn out 5k words per chappie but I CANNOT literature review to save my life. But the Tuesday after...yes, she will be back. LOLOL
"How does that make any sense?" Timmy asked, leaning against Tecna's desk, watching as her fingers moved rapidly across the holographic computer panel. Streams of data, filtered through the connection between her magic and technology, danced on the screen.
"Which part?" Tecna muttered, her eyes scanning the images—moments when the former princess had transformed, each transformation prompting an anomaly in the data.
"How is the High Commander her trigger?" Timmy crossed his arms, brow furrowed. "Is it tied to her rage to him?"
Tecna turned in her chair to face her husband, pursing her lips. "I'm not sure. Her emotional response to him hasn't changed. She still feels the same as she always in his presence." She pointed to a graph on her screen, which highlighted elevated emotional spikes Stella experienced during her last confrontation with High Commander Silver —yet no transformation occurred.
"So what's causing the change?" Timmy tapped his chin thoughtfully, mimicking Tecna's habit. "Could it be the implant?"
Tecna frowned and turned back to her screen, pulling up the schematics of the implant embedded in the princess. "The implant was designed to stop her from using magic unless the High Commander activates it but only when the magic is ready."
Timmy's brow furrowed deeper. "Could the dark magic be causing a blocker?"
Tecna's expression darkened. It was a theory she hadn't fully explored yet, but it did not make sense entirely. "I'm not sure," she admitted. "But the commander mentioned something recently—he said the dark magic could make the implant transfer the sceptre's magic directly from her highness's body to the High Lord if they fail to secure the sceptre."
"How do you know the implant can even do that?" Timmy asked, the gravity of the situation settling in.
"The commander mentioned seeing the mark on his body glowing right before he healed a wound at an unnatural speed." Tecna's frustration flickered; High Commander Silver had been too vague for her liking, avoiding most of her follow-up questions. "That suggests the dark magic does more to the implant than just opening a valve for magic."
"So the sceptre magic was working when the commander's wound healed?"
Tecna nodded, "I assumed so, it may be the last time we have the sceptre activating on record, but he's very cryptic about the details of how it happened," She grumbled, "And anyway, we have bigger problems if the high lord finds out the sceptre doesn't activate anymore,"
Timmy watched curiously as his wife flicked through her data, trying to think of a way to ignite the sceptre's magic again. They knew the high commander was the trigger, but how and in what form that trigger was remained unknown.
"Is rage the only thing that we know activates the sceptre's magic?"
Tecna didn't glance up at her husband as her eyes glazed over the numeric on the screen, "Well she activated it during the rebellion ambush, but I don't have a solid reading of her emotions that day,"
"What about what triggered it, she didn't transform right away as soon as she saw the high commander, right?"
Her eyes widened slightly as if understanding what he was trying to insinuate, "No…" Immediately Tecna's fingers ran over the holographic screen she had near her, tapping in some commands to illuminate the bigger screen with the footage of the ambush. All of her ships procure live feed, but the interceptor closest to the princess that night had a clear shot of the distorted voices amongst the chaos.
High Commander Silver stood over the princess's battered and bruised body as she lay on the ground. Blood splattered around her from the impact she took from the interceptor shot that would've killed her if it had been aimed at her.
Both Drakari members stared at the screen in anticipation as the commander spoke him his sinister tone, "Impressive princess, but not good enough,"
She watched the former princess's eyes widen as if hearing the devil's voice standing over her. The commander smirked at her, cold and uncaring of the damage her body had incurred, as he turned to face his soldiers behind him, guns at the ready.
"We got what we came for," He said coldly, "Destroy everything else,"
The princess reached out her bloody hand, her body unable to even move as she let out a pained scream. "No, please," She begged, her fisted hand pressing against the floor to try and aid herself onto her feet but her body was at its limit, "Please don't-"
Any more and it would kill her.
Unfazed, the high commander reached down, his cold gloved hand gripping her bicep in order to pull her onto her feet. Red stained her forehead, pouring down the side of her face as her tear-filled gaze stayed desperately on her comrades.
The gun of the inceptor whose footage was being streamed turned its loaded gun towards the rebellion base ship hovering on the mountainside. "Fire at will," Came the high commander's steely voice, "Leave no one alive,"
"NO!" She screamed, her shriek echoing in the footage as the bright flames emitted from the tip of the barrel. Before it could even fire, the footage stopped dead in the final frame as the glaring golden light erupted from the princess.
She destroyed the inceptor in the next instance, hence the footage came to an abrupt end.
"She wasn't protecting herself against him," Timmy murmured, the gravity of the new information starting to unfold, "She was protecting her rebellion against him,"
The screen blanked out at the end of the video reel, and Brandon Silver's glare materialised in the reflection of the screen. Tecna and Timmy both snapped their heads in his direction, not even noticing him walking into the lab as he stood behind them in his usual training attire. "Commander," Timmy greeted him, straightening up as High Commander Silver closed his eyes with an exasperated sigh, "We were wrong."
"The sceptre isn't resonating to her surface-level anger – It's much deeper than that," Tecna added, her mind already linking the possibilities together, "But this leaves so many unanswered questions,"
Brandon Silver on the other hand looked blank as a slate. There was no guessing what he was thinking.
"It doesn't matter - we will have to do whatever it takes," he grimaced. Tecna and Timmy gazed at each other, a look of knowing between them as they realised what this meant for the princess. If rage doesn't work, then the only other option left is to invoke her sense of protection against Brandon Silver. It was the only other method of trigger that was proven to work.
It was the only option they had.
"Now we know rage isn't the only thing," High Commander Silver clenched his jaw in irritation at the new revelation of the princess's powers. "I have to be a threat to her,"
Stella stared at herself in the mirror, her waist-length blonde hair slightly damp from her shoulder as she sat at the dresser in her room. Over the last couple of days, High Commander Silver let her recover, allowing her to roam the castle and spend the last few days sketching out whatever idea sprung in her head.
Since the struggle after she woke up, the balcony door remained open, letting in the sun and soft breeze as she soaked in the warmth of her element, feeling herself regain light in her skin.
Digit would bring in the replenisher potion in the morning, with breakfast and despite her initial defiance, Stella continued to take them. She needed her strength to fight and for whatever reason High Commander Silver wanted her alive for, she was going to use the opportunity to kill him and his father.
Running her fingers through her wetted hair, she shook the ends, letting the water shake before throwing the darkened blonde hair over her back. She was almost completely recovered, and she knew he would come knocking at her door sooner than later to resume testing the sceptre again.
Deciding to make use of her day, Stella stood up and headed to her door which was left unlocked and restriction-free for her to leave and enter as she pleased. Shutting it behind her gently, she gazed around the empty hallway before her eyes settled on the king's study door opposite to her own.
She recalled the High Commander's ship still sitting idle under her balcony window this morning and she didn't hear it take off any time after. That means he was still in the Sun Palace.
Deciding not to disturb the hornets today, the former princes turned towards the east wing of the palace. Digit had left her breakfast this morning and jolted off in a hurry back to Tecna's lab so she was going to roam the castle alone today.
Back when she was a princess, the castle would always be buzzing with people. Court officials, ministers, and foreign guests who were here to meet the king would often take a turn about the courtyard or garden.
Stella would spend her day going through her lessons with Governess Griselda, whether it was history, ballroom dancing, or equestrian, she always had something to do and as much as she despised it back then – she found herself yearning for that same peaceful life, or at least more peaceful than this.
The fact of the matter was that former Princess Stella of Solaria was now nothing but a prisoner, and if ever he felt like it, her captor could have her killed. During her time in the rebellion, Stella didn't explicitly keep track of Brandon Silver's list of crimes, she could imagine how severe his sins must be based on the Drakari's decimations over the last few years led by a fearsome high commander.
Considering how he almost killed her on the balcony the other night, he was remorseless as the rumours said he was.
Deciding to take a turn about the ground again, the former princess stepped out onto the white stone lain path that parted through the lush royal garden. Her feet shuffled aimlessly over the trail, her eyes wandering the array of flowers and plants that the royal garden maintained over the last 4 years.
Once she made the turn to her beloved moon crescent fountain and gazebo, she stood in her tracks at the unusual figure that sat in her usual chair.
Riven Hale, of all unlikely people, sat on the table set, his elbows resting against the white stone top. His violet eyes were so concentrated on something between his fingers that he hadn't even noticed the former princess frozen in her tracks just a few feet away.
During her duration here, Riven had never spoken to her – aside from the occasion glares he'd send her way whenever she caught his eye. He didn't dwindle in her presence for long, as if the air around her was poisonous or something – he always avoided her.
He had always been like that as far back as she had known him. Snarky, narcissistic and self-serving.
She quite literally despised the look he always had when he saw her. A mix of amusement, and cynical joy at the pitiful state she was in as the high commander's prisoner. But for the first time since she'd known him, he didn't have that look in his gaze.
Between his nimble fingers sat a silver band, attached to a metal chain that he had around his neck. A foreign longing gaze swirled in his eyes as he stared at the band, lost in his own thoughts.
The more Stella stared at his face, the more the emotion on his face became shockingly apparent. She couldn't believe what she was seeing, for the first time ever.
Riven Hale…looked sad.
Stella took a step back, her temporary daze breaking when her foot hit the branch behind her and Riven's attention broke from the jewellery in his grip. His violet orbs flickered up and immediately shifted to that irritation he always had.
It was as if the sadness was never there.
He shot up from his seat, shoving the band and its attached chain back into his navy shirt, "What do you want, Your Highness?" He barked as if part of him was more annoyed she had seen that state of him.
"I- nothing I didn't mean-" She began, unable to comprehend what she even saw let alone the way he spoke to her, "I'm sorry I was just-"
Riven's tone far exceeded the lack of care Brandon Silver had. "Do you like sticking your nose in everyone's business or does it come naturally to you?" He snapped and Stella's jaw dropped as his footsteps stalked down the steps that led up to the gazebo.
Flashbacks of the icy words Brandon had used that night on the balcony clouded her vision as she watched Riven approach.
"I didn't-" She shook her head, trying to piece together what she had even done to piss him off so much. The closer he got, the quicker she realised this was how he always treated her, even when she was crowned princess and he was a knight in training.
Riven Hale always looked at her as if she was beneath him.
Her eyes narrowed, matching his annoyance-riddled expression, "What is your problem?" She gritted out right back to him.
"You, you're my problem, your highness, shouldn't you be back in your prison room?" He snapped back, and her lips parted at his words and tone.
Stella could never find her words with Brandon Silver, but this man - this man and his brazen attitude had it coming for a while, "I'm allowed to walk the grounds of my own home," She hissed back at him and Riven's eyes widened as if he didn't think the princess was able to snap back, "It was your damn commander's orders!"
"Watch it, Your Highness," He shot back, "You're forgetting you are worth less than the dirt on these grounds in Drakar,"
"Then kill me, Riven," Stella hissed back, "Everyone here is so damn good at reminding me I'm worthless, but no one has done the one thing they should – put me out of my misery!"
She barely finished her sentence before Riven's hand had fisted over her shirt and his other hand drew out his cutlass. The glowing curved red blade sat under her jaw, as Riven stood panting in front of her with nothing but hate in his eyes.
Hate that she's seen before. Hate that she was desensitised to around the Drakari.
But there was more than that. She caught a glimpse of it before but up close, it was so clear. There was pain beneath the anger. But she wasn't in the business of caring about what pain Riven Hale had.
She let out a strained gasp, her voice shaky but bold as she spat back, "Do it, just kill me,"
His teeth gritted at her word, pressing the blade further against her skin. Stella could see the veins throbbing in his forehead, but before he could berate her some more, he closed his eyes. As if calming himself down, he let out a harsh breath, and the raging anger was gone as quickly as it came, replaced with the same cold expression.
He let go of her, cutlass moving away from her neck as he stuffed it into the sheath strap around his chest. His gaze had reduced from the burning anger to a dull detached look.
"The high commander needs to keep a firmer leash on you, it seems," he hissed icily. With that, he walked past her, harshly shoving her shoulder as he went.
My sincerest apologies if this chapter makes no sense...
Lots of love,
Star