The Cursed Wish | ONC 2024

Ch 17: The Scepter of The Empress

Estefania was lost. The magic threw her around worse than a ship on the ocean. The longer she tried to focus, the more the swirling pool tossed her around. Her mind screamed, and there was nothing to grasp as she sank deeper and deeper into her own despair.

The scepter.

She needed to focus on the scepter. Her sister was dying. Then again, maybe Mona wouldn't have it out for them if their father hadn't broken his engagement, but if he hadn't, she wouldn't have been born.

Her head ached. Her heart felt like it was beating out of her chest, but she couldn't even open her eyes in her own body. It was like the pool had taken her mind and moved it somewhere else, and here she was, drifting farther and farther away.

She remembered Solomon in her vision. He'd accepted his queen's decisions even though it broke his daughter's heart. Later, he'd followed her grandmother's orders and spent sixteen years raising Estefania at a monastery.

He taught her how to control her breathing when she would get upset about her family sending her away. Solomon would hold her hand and tell her to let the air come in and out in slow beats of six.

The scepter.

She let the air in and slowly exhaled. She needed to find the scepter. Someone had to have some memory of it. She wouldn't fail Avangelique.

A golden haze appeared before her, and a rush of wind brought her back to her body. She opened her eyes and stared at the pool's surface, which was now glowing blue. Rillian gaped at the power, and Nathaniel barked in alarm as a woman made of water rose from the pool and held out her hand.

"Peace," the woman spoke with a gentle power that made the very stones quake. "I have come to help you."

"Louraline," Rillian said. "It's an honor."

"Rillian," the former fairy empress lowered her hand. "Your mother wanted to make the journey, but her spirit is weak because it is trapped."

"Did you find the scepter?" Lorenzo asked.

Estefania shook her head. She'd tried her best, and once again, she'd failed. Her sister believed in her enough to save her, but she couldn't even repay the favor.

"Is that what this is about?" Louraline frowned. "This pool is sacred, Rillian. It is not a place to look for misplaced items. Your mother would be disappointed, Rillian."

"My mother is dead," Rillian said. "And Monique has destroyed the fairies. We need to undo her curses before she destroys Cyra and Sahar next. She's already put the princess of Sahar in a death sleep."

"If it is what you truly wish, I can gift you the scepter," Louraline said. "But you must release the empress. Only she can restore the magic to the world."

"Release the empress?" Lorenzo frowned. "All the fairies are gone. Rillian said his mother is dead."

"The next empress must be awakened," Louraline said. "Mona has made it so she could not ascend before, and how you must use the scepter to reverse her curse."

"What about my sister?" Estefania faced Louraline.

"Avangelique de Sahar was born the day Cressida passed, and the power of the empress passed to her," Louraline said. "If she dies, all is lost."

Estefania felt like the wind was knocked out of her. Avangelique couldn't be a fairy, much less a reincarnation of the empress. Sure, she'd been able to take Estefania's curse, but her sister had never shown any type of magic. Then again, how well did she know Ava?

"Then give us the scepter," Lorenzo said. "Let us save her."

"You should mind your temper, little prince," Louraline said. "But I will give you what you desire."