Burning Star

In an old astronian tale, there was a girl with no heart. Amelia had grown up with this story. A legacy from her mother, she presumed. It was one of her favorite stories, and in this moment, when they had nothing else to do besides waiting, it came to mind.

It tells of a young woman, who had once loved. However, when her lover abandoned her, she swore never to love again. In order to stay true to her word, the woman tore her heart out and shattered it in a million pieces, scattering them throughout the universe.

There were many definitions of the tale, but Amelia always believed that the woman didn’t have a heart because it was of no use to her any longer. Of course, it was just a story—she knew that. But if Amelia had the chance, she’d do the same thing. There was no sign of Eric surviving. He was still a burnt corpse on the ground, and the stench of burnt hair made her retch. Trying to fight it back, she looked down at the hand she was holding.

“Please, pull through,” she muttered.

Amelia found existing pointless. She was aware that it was sorrow talking, but she couldn’t shake the thoughts away. The desire to live on was utterly gone.

As hard as it was to cope with her own thoughts, it was harder to be near Joshua and Vega than to be alone. The two of them hadn’t seen each other in years, and they were walking on toes around her. She has to get away from them. Amelia rose from the ground and stared blankly at them. “I have to get some air,” she said.

It didn’t occur to her how stupid a statement that was before she’d already turned on her heels. They were outside, so air shouldn’t be a problem, yet, Amelia felt suffocated. She walked over to a star lion who was resting on the grass. The animal raised its head and stared at her every movement.

“Will he be alright?” she asked and took a seat beside the massive animal. The lion tilted its head but didn’t react otherwise. Amelia reached out a hand as started stroking the animal’s soft fur.

The vast field didn’t offer much protection from surrounding enemies; they were pretty much an open buffet. And without the shadows of the tree, there was no room to hide either. This made Amelia have front-seat tickets to the big reunion of Joshua and Vega.

She couldn’t hear their words. In fact, she couldn’t hear anything at all. The place was astonishingly quiet. Only the gentle purr of the lion could be heard as she watched Joshua wrap his hands around Vega. When he pulled back, he took her hand in his, dragging her into the outline of a forest. Amelia cocked an eyebrow. That hardly seemed appropriate behavior. With their absence, the field seemed to get colder, and she shivered from a chilly draft.

“This can’t be good,” she muttered. She rose from the ground and walked back over the field, with her eyes on the grass. Her teeth were clenched in an attempt to stop them from chattering.

“Joshua?” she called. “Vega? Are you there?”

Amelia didn’t notice her nails digging into her palms before the pain hit her. She hissed, but kept on searching for her friends. It didn’t take long before the sound of muffled voices reached her ears. She recognized Joshua’s frustrated voice, and edging closer she listened to their conversation while watching them from a somewhat safe distance.

“No,” Vega said.

Joshua groaned. “Will you keep giving me only one-word answers?”

“No,” she replied.

"Why do you keep giving me one-word answers then?” He ran a hand through his hair, ruffling it in frustration.

Vega stared at the ground, fiddling with her fingers. “Because.”

“You have got to be kidding me,” Joshua pleaded. “Why won’t you answer me?”

Amelia held her breath as Vega slowly raised her head. “There are some things I can’t tell you,” she replied, staring straight at Joshua. “It is not because I don’t trust you, and it’s certainly not because I don’t want to. But some things aren’t meant to be heard by humans.”

The hurt in Joshua’s eyes said everything and nothing at once. “I’m such a fool,” he muttered.

“What do you mean?” Vega frowned.

“For all this time, I’ve been trying to rationalize any feelings I have for you.” He swallowed, clearing his throat. “I’ve been telling myself that we’ll work through things.”

“And we—“

“But,” he interrupted her, “the reality doesn’t work that way. You’re a star, and I’m just a human.”

“That’s not what I meant, Joshua,” Vega argued. “And you know it.”

He didn’t reply, probably because he didn’t have anything else to add to the discussion. Amelia watched him turn his back towards Vega, and she wanted to stop him. This wasn’t how it’s supposed to end—it couldn’t.

“Can someone please diffuse the sexual tension in here?” a third voice interfered.

Amelia’s eyes shot to the newcomer, her eyes softening as she stared at him.

Eric... She smiled. He’d lived! It had worked. Not caring about revealing her location, she shot forth and tackled him to the ground. Her lips connected with his cheek, and she kept pecking him, overly thrilled that he was there. Few seconds after, Vega and Joshua joined her; both of them relieved and appeared to have forgotten their argument, at least for a short amount of time.

Eric hugged them all, and then his face grew grim.

“What happened?” Amelia asked. “What’s wrong?”

“We have to fight,” he said. “Our biggest goal right now would be to take out Errai, and it is doable—I know how.”

“Tell us then!” Joshua said.

“Basically, I stood before Solem, and she explained to me that Errai’s secret—“he rolled his eyes—“is the ability to hide himself in his smoke. He can’t escape from us instantly, he moves slowly.”

“How is that possible?” Amelia frowned.

“Well. It’s quite easy. He hides himself in his silver mist,” Eric explained.

“We’ve always thought he simply teleported away,” Vega said.

“I know, and that’s where we were wrong.”

“But how do we find him?” Amelia asked. She took a step back and glanced around. “Does that mean he’s near?”

“Oh, he’s definitely near,” Vega said. “He’s been on earth for so long, he must be starving from no Star presence. If I’m correct, he’ll probably try to take me on by himself.”

“That does sound like any Black Hole,” Joshua agreed. He clapped his hands together. “Great! Let’s get looking.”

Amelia saw him and Vega hurry to the field again while she stood back with Eric. She glanced at him with a smile. “I’m glad you’re back,” she said.

His foot scraped the ground. “Solem told me something,” he said.

A sense of dread filled Amelia. What if Solem had informed him of the complications of a relationship between a star and a human? While she was aware that she wasn’t technically a star, but only a descendant, that rule might still apply.

He took her hands. “Amelia.” He gulped. “I love you.”

The whole world stood still for a single moment, and Amelia’s heart stopped working. She couldn’t breathe, and when her head started to feel dizzy, she forced herself to inhale.

He looked at her. “Are you alright?”

She nodded, a smile forming on her lips. “Yes. I’m alright.”

“Why are you smiling?” he asked, narrowing his eyes.

“I’m not smiling,” she said while her cheeks hurt from revealing so much of her teeth.

“Yes you are…” he muttered.

“I love you too,” she said. There, she said it… She finally told him and it felt sensational. He met her eyes, and she could see his cheeks turn red before he wrapped his arms around her.

Solem, she was so happy.