Burning Star

Sitting in the shadow beneath a large oak tree, was usually a joy. Back in the temple garden, Amelia often hid among the flora. It was like her own perfect little sanctuary. She could listen to sounds of the nature while the wind whipped her hair around her face. It was a way to reach serenity, clarity and get relief for the struggles on a day-to-day basis.

However, this time it didn’t work. Amelia hugged her knees and tried to forget the hurt inside her, and then she attempted think of something else.

When Amelia was sad, she found it easier to direct her energy into anger instead. While she’d been in the Realm of the Black Holes, she’d only managed to survive by hating on evil. It was much easier to deal with the sound of her heart breaking when she didn’t have to think about the memories.

Of course, this wasn’t the best way to deal, but it worked for her. So Amelia didn’t cave from her stubbornness, she didn’t give in to the temptation of crying, nor did she try to cheer herself up. Instead, she embraced the anger and directed it at Eric. In truth, she was fuming.

He never listened to her. She knew that she was exceptional. And while she couldn’t explain it, she knew that Orianna had spoken the truth. It explained her frozen age, along with the fact that Amelia was the only one able to see Vega when she entered the realm. Amelia was the daughter of a star, and she could feel it in her very being.

Sadly, Eric hadn’t given her a chance to speak. Maybe he would treat her with respect if he knew that she was his superior. Amelia cringed.

Superior… That word sounded wrong on so many levels. She didn’t want to have that kind of responsibility. Especially not towards Eric and Joshua. The thought alone made her dizzy. Maybe it was a smart thing that she hadn’t told them.

Yeah, she had to keep it a secret. If not for herself, then for them.

“Amelia?”

She looked up to find Joshua towering above her, he gestured to a spot beside her. “Mind if I take a seat?” he asked.

“Go ahead,” she muttered.

Joshua was a decent guy. Sometimes Amelia thought he might understand her better than Eric did. Even though, that made no sense since Eric had spent more time with her.

“You know…” he started, and plucked a piece of grass, rolling it around a finger. “The first time I met a Star Lion I thought it was going to eat me.”

His words surprised Amelia, not because of the content, but the fact that he said them. All of her knowledge about his past had come from Eric. Joshua never shared much of the past. When she’d asked Eric about it, he’d explained that sometimes the past hurts so much to recall and that Joshua still hadn’t gotten over the pain.

“R-really?” she asked.

He nodded. “Yeah. Me and…” he drifted off, a hurt look on his face before clearing his throat. “Well. I woke up beside a river, all dizzy and wet. I’d fallen down the Astron Falls, and—“

“The Astron falls?” Amelia interrupted. “But that’s a huge waterfall.”

Joshua chuckled. “I know. I’m still not sure how I lived either. Guess the Stars were with me all the time.”

“What happened then?”

“Well, I woke up Annabell, and we turned around, standing face to face with a massive white lion.”

Amelia knew about Annabell from Eric. She’d been half of Vega’s soul, and Joshua had rescued her and then reunited her with her other half. It was a beautiful story. Her favorite bedtime story actually, Eric must have told it a hundred times over.

“What did you do?”

“I almost wet myself. Then Annabell said it wanted us to follow along, and we did.” Joshua scratched his head. “It led us to its home where it had three little lion cubs.”

“And it was the first time you touched one?” Amelia loved that part. When Annabell had taken his hand, and one of the cubs had allowed him to touch its soft fur.

“Yeah.” He gestured to the wounded Star lion who was resting in the shadow of another tree. “Now I don’t have problems with them, though.”

“They’re beautiful,” she said.

A silence spread between them, and Amelia watched the lion lick his wounds. Its magnificent mane shuffled with every movement.

“Amelia,” Joshua said. “I know you don’t want me to defend him, and I respect that.”

“Thank you for that,” she said, not taking her eyes away from the lion. She really didn’t need Joshua to make excuses for Eric. It wouldn’t change her mind, and it wouldn’t help him.

“But,” Joshua continued. “I think you should remember that he’s in a tense situation here. You, being here, have made him unable to focus out of sheer fear that you might get hurt. He’s saying things he doesn’t mean to everyone.” Joshua grinned and pointed to his head. “I should know… he’s in my head.”

Amelia didn’t answer him, and he rose from his spot, dusting off his pants.

“Alright,” he said. “I’ll stop now. Just know he cares for you, and right now, he’s beating himself up about being a jerk to you.” With that, Joshua turned on his heels and walked over to the Star lion again.

She sighed. This was such a mess, and deep down, she knew that he hadn’t meant those words. Didn’t make it hurt less, though. Her heart was breaking apart inside of her, and she couldn’t stop it.

No… Anger was the only resolution right now. There was no other possible way to deal with this. Actually, she should march right out there, find him, and give him a piece of her mind. She’d tell him that she wouldn’t stand idle by while he treated her worse than the dirt beneath his shoes. He would be told that she was tired of his mood swings, and most of all, she’d tell him that he wasn’t allowed to hurt her ever again.

Of course, grumbling silently beneath a tree was also an option. Amelia crossed her arms. This couldn’t be beneficial for her health.

Deciding to go for a walk, she pushed herself off the ground. When she’d sneaked out, she’d stolen some armor from the Temple storage room. While most of it had been taken off in the cave, she still wore the black linen pants, and the long-sleeved red shirt. And it was agonizingly warm to wear. Amelia hadn’t been smart enough to pack any spare clothes, and on top of that, she’d decided against wearing a normal shirt beneath.

To put it simply, she was boiling. Even the shadows couldn’t cool her skin any longer. No, what she truly needed was to take off these clothes, and just be herself for a minute or two.

Amelia walked across the clearing. She didn’t have any particular destination in mind; she just wanted some privacy. The vast forest called to her, and she started running towards a couple of oak trees, standing close together.

When she was out of sight, she tore off the long-sleeved shirt and threw it to the side. Relief flooded through her as a chilly wind caressed her overheated skin. She looked down and fluffed her undershirt, hoping to get a breeze to chill down her chest.

“What are you doing?”

Amelia spun around, noticing Eric sitting by the trunk of one of the trees. His eyes were wide as he looked between her and the shirt on the ground.

She huffed and raised her chin up, her arms firmly planted on her hips. “That is not of any concern to you.”

Eric averted his eyes, and she saw him start to fumble around with his fingers, picking his nails while mumbling something incoherent.

“What?” she asked.

“I’m sorry,” he said, and looked up to meet her gaze. “Okay? I’m sorry. I was way out of line, and I have no possible way of explaining myself.”

“Why’d you say it then?” she asked. “You said those things. At least be a man and own up to it.”

He jerked forth and rose from the ground. Amelia took a step back and immediately regretted it. She wasn’t afraid of him, so her reaction was silly.

“Look, Amelia,” he said and walked over. She didn’t dare move an inch, and when he took her hands in his she could feel her heart skip a beat. He continued, “You’re marvelous. Not only are you extremely beautiful and talented, but you’re also incredible clever.” He smiled before looking at their intertwined hands. “I shouldn’t have said those things, I know that. And I’m sorry.”

Amelia could feel the heat rush to her cheeks. If he looked up now, he would notice her face resemble a tomato. Her only hope was the shadowing trees. Maybe they’d shield her facial color from him.

“I’m worried, Amelia,” he said. “These past days, I’ve been obsessed with finding you simply to make sure you’re safe. When you told me that there was no need for me to worry at all, I lashed out when I shouldn’t have.”

Amelia opened her mouth, trying to figure out something to say. She wanted him to stop talking. It hurt to see him like that. When she couldn’t locate her voice, she tore her hands free of his grip. He looked at her with a surprised expression before hurt shadowed his eyes.

She couldn’t bear it. Instead, she wrapped her arms around his necks, hugging him tight. “It’s okay,” she whispered into his ear.

He had a few days’ worth of stubble on his cheek, and it tickled her skin. A sigh escaped her lips when she felt his arms wrap around her torso. He buried his head in the crook of her neck and sighed too.

They stood there for a while. Amelia didn’t want to break the embrace, and she was lucky as it seemed that Eric didn’t mind standing there either. For just one moment, everything seemed okay. Everything would be okay, and she had hope that tomorrow would seem to be a much brighter day.

Finally, she mustered up the effort to pull away, and she rewarded him a smile. “Thank you,” she said.

He frowned. “What for?”

She shrugged. “For being you and for not being mad at me. I can’t stand not talking to you.”

Once again, he took her hands in his. She could feel his thumb caress her fingers, and he smiled. “You’re welcome.” He hesitated, giving her hand a small squeeze. “Take care of those fingers, okay? I don’t want anything to happen to them.”

Amelia found the comment peculiar. She crunched her eyebrows together, and tried to figure out what he meant. Of course, he could just have meant that she should be careful with her fingers. That seemed to be a reasonable explanation. It was just so… random.

She shrugged and smiled at him, nodding. “I will.”

“Thank you.” He hooked a thumb over his shoulder and nodded in the direction. “Want to head back to Joshua?”

“Sure,” Amelia agreed and started to walk back. Eric grabbed her hand and pulled her to a stop. She turned to him with a confused look, wondering what was wrong now.

She was surprised to see him flustered, his cheeks red. “What is it?” she asked.

“Your shirt?” he asked.

Amelia widened her eyes and searched around to find it on the ground. She’d been so comfortable that she had forgotten all about her attire. She looked down at herself. While her undershirt wasn’t exactly revealing anything, she knew that it wasn’t proper to be dressed like that in public.

The shirt hung on a bush nearby, and Amelia walked over to retrieve it. Once in her hands, she frowned at it. She really didn’t want to take it on again; she’d finally cooled off.

“Eric?” she asked.

He turned around, tilting his head. “Yeah?”

“Do you think, it’ll be okay if I didn’t take on the shirt?” She saw his face change into a frown, and hurried to continue. “I mean, just for now. It’s only you and Joshua that’s going to see it, and I’m really hot in this outfit.”

Eric gave a small nod. “Sure, why not?”

Amelia released a sigh of relief, and then bundled the shirt together, carrying it in her arms back to Joshua.