Good Wish Gone Bad
Page 20
Scarlet finally broke the silence, looking at Lady Stella. “When did you know? I mean, about Rancora. When did you realize that she was Cora?”
At the mention of her old friend’s name, Lady Stella’s smile disappeared and her eyes filled with tears. “As soon as I saw Rancora for the first time—when we all discovered that Lady Cordial was not who she claimed to be, that she had fooled us all with her disguise—I knew that it had to be her,” Lady Stella replied, her despondent voice barely a whisper. “That’s why this has been so very difficult on so many levels—because I know how deep Rancora’s anger and thirst for revenge runs, and yet I am also mourning the loss of the person I loved so dearly all over again.”
As they listened to their headmistress and heard the sorrow in her words, the girls became equally tearful. Lady Stella had been through so much in the years since she was their age. It wasn’t fair that someone so kind, whose only true mission was to help both Starland and Wishworld, could ever be forced to endure such pain and have to protect herself from Rancora’s misguided retribution.
“This is also why I hope the lesson that has resonated with all of you is that there’s nothing you can’t accomplish when you work together,” Lady Stella added.
Adora immediately looked across the table and frowned apologetically at Vega, who responded by folding her arms across her chest. Lady Stella shook her head sympathetically as she looked from one to the other.
“We all have disagreements—especially when we believe that our way is the best way—but the important thing is that we forgive each other,” the headmistress continued. “It’s that willingness to bridge the divide that will ultimately keep you safe and protected from even the most toxic negative energy. This is what the union of your twelve crystals represents—the promise that no matter what, you will always come back to each other and emerge stronger than ever.”
Adora was the first to smile, blinking her pale blue eyes at Vega hopefully—and then, sure enough, Vega’s deep cobalt eyes sparkled back at Adora with genuine respect and kindness. The rest of the girls looked around the table at each other as well, reflecting on the little disagreements they’d had, and within moments they were all shaking their heads and realizing how insignificant it all was.
“That’s more like it,” Lady Stella said, nodding approvingly at the girls. “Unfortunately, because of the depth of Rancora’s anger, I feel quite certain that she will never forgive me—and because of that, this situation has become much larger than I, and much larger than any one of you. This is no longer about Rancora’s getting revenge on one person, but about her taking control of Starland—using negative energy to frighten everyone into submission.”
“But we have our Power Crystals,” Vega pointed out, echoing the same point she’d made the previous day. “That’s going to be enough to keep everyone safe, isn’t it? We just saw how they protected us from her at the Negative Energy Facility.”
“And if you destroyed all the negative energy Rancora collected, what more can she do?” Adora interjected.
Lady Stella shook her head and sighed. “Indeed, it would seem that our work here is done—but while the Power Crystals may be enough to protect us, in order to save Starland we’re going to have to come up with something far greater than any of us may have imagined. As you saw, Rancora still has her bad Wish Pendant, and there’s no telling how much negativity she has stored inside of that. It’s the one thing I couldn’t get to.”
“So is that our next mission—to get the pendant away from her?” Vega asked.
“Perhaps.” Lady Stella tilted her head as a mysterious smile spread across her face. “It is my hope that all will be revealed when we find the missing page of the oracle.”
“But how are we going to find it?” Sage wondered with a frustrated frown. “How are we going to get it back from Rancora, if she’s even the one who has it?”
“Yes—what can we do?” Adora asked, leaping up from her chair as if she was ready to go at that very moment. “We want to help! All of us—right, Star Darlings?”
“Right!” each girl replied as they all got to their feet and joined Adora.
“And you shall,” Lady Stella acknowledged as she nodded from one Star Darling to the next. “Knowing what I know about Cora—and knowing what I know about each of you—I’m positive we’ll find a way.”
The girls looked at each other with eager anticipation. They might not have all the answers yet, but together they would do everything within their power to ensure that Rancora never succeeded in taking control of Starland. After all, they were the Star Darlings. They had already saved Starland once and they had every reason to believe that they would be the ones to do it again.
It was practically written in the stars.
The girls turned to one another, sharing and talking about the things they had learned. They didn’t even notice when the light in the Wish Cavern dimmed, ever so slightly, just for a moment.