𝓟𝐫𝗼𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝓢𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐮𝐧𝐞

Chapter #35 - Glimmer

Chapter #35 - Glimmer

Glimmer leaned against the wall of her bare room in Solreef, in disbelief of what she'd just told the Fork-dude-whatever-his-name-was. Bo was grumbling some to some visitor outside the door— maybe Tam? Or someone else?— but she barely heard him.

Her memories really were back.

Some combination of that crowded talk from the other day and the forgotten secret had triggered them. Leaving her with a jumble of new memories, each confirming something Glimmer knew she'd regret telling.

She was human.

And she was Eleanor Olivia Wright.

That had all changed on a sunny, terrifying spring afternoon— the day her dad had died and she'd lost her memories. And before she knew it, Glimmer was thinking back again.

***

6 years earlier

Ten-year-old Eleanor's father— Ethan— had seemed tense for the last couple days, and it only became more apparent as he picked her up from school. His jaw was tight as he asked, "How was your day?"

"Pretty good," she said as they stepped onto the red double-decker bus to get to their daily library visit.

Her dad paid for the ride then smiled at this response, for once the tension releasing from his features. Eleanor had no idea it would be the last time she really saw his face— and, for a long time, the last time she'd see a face so wrinkled and imperfectly perfect.

Though the truth was, her day hadn't been all that great. Some other kids had made fun of her cat statue. Her cousin Ivy assured her they didn't mean to be rude, but clearly no one understood how important it was to her. It was the final gift she'd gotten from both her parents before they got divorced— a compromise from Eleanor's ongoing beg to get a pet.

She'd broken into tears when they teased her about it.

She pushed aside the thoughts and looked out the window, along the streets and landmarks she'd been seeing since she was born, telling her they were getting close to the British Library.

"Daddy... you've been so worried these last couple days. Is everything alright?" Eleanor wasn't sure where the spontaneous question had come from. She just felt like she needed to understand.

"It's..." he paused for what felt like hours, "it's hard to explain. Let's just say I got invited to work for someone, only to find out it was a terrible job."

Because that explained everything.

"British Library," announced the bus driver, putting his hand up to get all the riders' attention. Everybody who was going to the library— including Eleanor and her father— started to scooch out of the London bus.

That's when it all happened.

Their feet touched the road as they got off. One second, the bus was completely still, waiting for them to cross the street.

The next, it was racing right at them.

As if someone had given it a push.

Faster. Faster. Faster.

Time seemed to slow down. Eleanor wanted to dash aside before it could hit her, but she was frozen in fear. So was her dad. The bus raced closer, drowning her vision in its bright red paint job.

Suddenly, the faint grip of two hands grabbed her, hands that if it weren't for them, she'd be dead. Hands that only took her. Which meant her dad...

"So much potential," the person whispered, their grip tightening like Eleanor was suddenly valuable. "She has stellarlune in her genes too." They mumbled something else— something with the words Vespera and Gethen. Were those names? Eleanor was too hazy and scared to try to figure it out.

Everything went dark.

And when she awoke— laying on a bed in an eerily bland room— her mind was a blank slate.

Something had just happened... something terrifying... but for the life of her she couldn't remember what it was. Who was she, anyway? The only thing that seemed to be clear was...

The sparkly cat statue laying on the left of the bed belonged to her.

"Hello, Glimmer," said a female voice as her silhouette sauntered into the room, a woman with a tight blonde updo.

Glimmer. Was that her name? It seemed like a weird one. Why would anyone—

Glimmer looked down at her hands in realization.

They were glowing. Glow. Glimmer.

Huh.

"It does seem like a fitting name for a Flasher, doesn't it?" the woman asked, "Of course, I didn't know what you'd end up manifesting, so I had to come up with different nicknames for all the possible abilities." Glimmer had a feeling that even without the amnesia, she wouldn't understand what any of that meant.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Gisela."

"Were you the one that saved me?" she asked shakily, sitting on her hands and failing to stop them from glowing so much. Glimmer couldn't recall what she'd just been saved from, but... she knew there was something.

"I was."

She exhaled. If this Gisela person had saved her, she couldn't be too bad, could she?

Gisela adjusted the cloak she was wearing, "Now, I should probably explain to you a couple things. Follow me, and we can get you a cloak." All Glimmer could manage was a nod.

Grabbing her cat statue, she made an internal vow that she'd never, ever cry again.

***

The rest was history. Glimmer had been told all about the Lost Cities and elves and Neverseen, yet nothing about her own identity. She'd trained her Flashing with Ruy. She'd become less and less emotionally open. She'd gotten used to being with the Neverseen— became dedicated to their cause.

But now that her memories from beforehand were flooding back...

She was angry.

Infuriated, really.

Because now, putting everything together, she was sure that Gisela had murdered her dad.

It made sense. Both Glimmer— Eleanor, whatever— and her father had the stellarlune in their genes that gave them dormant abilities, and somehow Gisela figured this out. She'd tried to recruit Ethan, but when he refused, she killed him and took Eleanor— erasing her memories so she'd trust her.

What Glimmer didn't get was how she'd been triggered to become a Flasher. Wasn't Keefe's merge-thing the only way to activate abilities in humans? Unless... maybe there was another way to do it, another method Gisela had tested out on Eleanor. Which meant...

Glimmer had never been a trusted member of the Neverseen.

She'd been a test subject.