The Star

Chapter 1: She Sings to Dragons

Crossing the threshold, she'd expected a chill. That, or perhaps the light from the world would be snuffed out. Or that grisly beasts would greet her with fangs and claws. But nothing of the sort occurred. Instead, she was as warm as ever, and the light remained, dappled on the grass below, beaming through the leafy ceiling above. The only creatures were far away birds singing their morning songs.

If anything, Amee was more at peace than she had been in hours. She had spent the night running from Ivoris, the wind biting at her and the fear of getting caught gnawing at her stomach. If morning had come here then it had come there, as well, and her father and fiancé would be waking soon enough to find her empty chambers, if they hadn't already.

She smiled at the thought. Lord Vaely was a vile man, with a notoriously voracious appetite for younger women. He'd touch her and her very bones would turn to ice. He grinned with mangled yellow teeth. But his pockets were overflowing with Rosen's vast wealth, and how could her father pass that up? Never mind Ivoris would thrive regardless, as they had for years. They were one of Sky's End's greatest producers of leather, as well as the possessors of the country's most fertile soil. But her father had been blinded by greed, and Rosen's gold mines were legendary.

But she had made it, to the only place she knew she could escape to. Amee couldn't be sure what lie in the forest, but knew whatever did couldn't be worse than the life that had been laid before her back in Ivoris. True, her heart thudded in her chest still, her ribs keeping it from bursting from her chest altogether, but basking in the radiance of a still-present sun, she allowed her tense shoulders to finally fall.

She walked on. Before her were the tallest trees she'd ever seen. Their bark seemed to wave, the lines in the wood weaving in each tree rather than extending straight for the sky. The grass was patchy, plenty of dirt and roots overcoming it, but the brown and green scene painted by the Star was as picturesque as any runaway could hope it to be.

Now, of course she felt the land she'd left behind calling to her, screaming, really. It was like the feeling of someone looking at you, the way their eyes seem to burn. Her entire back was seared, knowing none had ever escaped the Star, and that she was abandoning what would have at least been a predictable life. In here, the greatest mystery in all of Sky's End, she couldn't even fathom ideas of what her life might look like.

Soon enough, though, Sky's End was out of sight. Fully enveloped by the trees, she made her choice. The Star was where she'd stay.

And, if it was all this peaceful, why wouldn't she? She knew at least one person resided here (the Wild King), and if he could exist in here, why not her?

She came across then a clearing. Puzzled, she approached. It was a massive lake. The trees on its edges seemed to lean over it, as if attempting to encase it in their shadows as much as their roots would allow.

Amee sat on the rocky shore, staring down into the crystalline waters. They were bluer than any blue she had ever seen. The surface shimmered, and even her reflection was far more enchanting than she was sure her actual appearance was. She sighed and opened her pack. She'd stolen meager rations from the kitchens, assisted by a kind cook she'd known since she was a child. Bread, packs of cheese, and even a few dandelion spirals. The cheese would not last long, a week perhaps at most, so she decided her first order of business had to be discovering the Star's food sources.

And once she had finished her slice of bread and cheese she certainly would have, had an iridescent glint not caught her eye from across the lake. It was not exactly difficult to spot, as the giant head emerged from the forests' shadows into the sunlit clearing. A long neck swerved towards the water, and a forked tongue lapped at the water. Once fully out of the trees and perched on rocks, the dragon stretched its pearly wings.