The Hidden Three (Book 1 of the Hidden Trilogy)

Chapter Nineteen: Eosphoros

Eliana

(SLB)

As I have already mentioned, I don't like being alone. So when Alena showed me my room, I politely went inside only to plan to go on a little walk around the star castle five minutes later. I shut the door behind me and gazed down the hall. No one was there. It wasn't like what I was doing was against the rules...as far as I know. However, I was still cautious.

I picked a random direction and started to walk. The hall was long but I passed the time by humming a simple tune. 'That would be enough' from Hamilton if we were being exact.

The end of the hall was nearing, it ended in a large wooden door, carvings of stars and their light embellished the wood and the brass handle was cold to the touch. Still, I pulled the door open and the breath was taken out of my lungs. An empty courtyard was laid out in front of me. It was quite large and there were probably a hundred different breeds of plants. Yet that was not what made me gasp. I recognized the plants, even though they weren't normal trees or flowers. Instead of trees, the rocky ground sprouted the glowing rocks that I had seen in my dreams only a week ago. It unnerved me that my dream could be true. Even though that was a good possibility I knew deep inside that it wasn't the future, but the past. An erased memory. That thought scared me more.

Trying to shake the revelation from my worried mind, I explored the court further. The flowers glowed a pale bronze light and grew brighter as I passed. I didn't even notice a patch of flowers until I walked by and they opened in my presence. Laughing silently to myself as I noticed a swing dangling by a thin rope hooked to a willow tree. Yes, a willow tree, the only tree I could see in the entire Courtyard. The swing was welcoming and I found myself being pulled towards it and when I reached it I sat on the old wood and gently push myself off. A cool, gentle breeze made my face cold and my cheeks turn a light pink. I softly hummed as I enjoyed the silence. I don't usually like being alone, but this wasn't an overpowering sense of loneliness. It felt as though the flowers and the glowing rocks and the single willow tree had a presence.

That's when I noticed the stars. While still swinging I looked out to the sky. On earth, the stars were subtle pricks in darkness. Here on Starbreak, there were swarms of stars, the brightness overpowering. Multitudes of bright dots came together to make a giant multicolored swirl in the sky. The kind you would only imagine to see in pictures. I think that was the first time I fully understood why we had to keep the darkness at bay. If the darkness consumed all this light, it would be pitch black. An eerie nothing. Darkness had the power to destroy all this.

When I thought about it, even more, I realized something; I had the power to destroy all this as well. If the stars were light, then they don't shine in light either, they're not special. They aren't seen, they are nothing. The light can consume light. You never see stars in the daytime, only in the dark. As much as the darkness can overcome the stars so can light. As much as darkness can overcome the stars, you need the darkness to have stars, you need a balance. That's what the guardians were supposed to do, save the balance.

"You're not a very good singer are you?" A voice says In my ear and I shriek, nearly falling off the swing. A glowing being vaguely in the shape of a human floats in the air in front of me. A star being. "You were humming, but you weren't very good at it," Rude!

" Well, I'm not exactly a professional singer!" I retort.

" I could tell," the star said and his shape brightens as he laughs at me.

" What is it that you need?" I ask politely after taking a deep breath to cool my nerves.

" Oh, nothing! I've just never met the sun warrior before! You are the sun warrior, correct?" The star asks. I was unsure of how to answer, I thought that that information was supposed to be quite secretive.

"Sun warrior! Wow! That's a big title. Your parents must be so proud!" That was a sensitive subject that the star brought up and it made me boil with anger. I wasn't quite sure how I knew that my parents had been murdered. It was more of a feeling than a memory. The feeling made me want to cry and scream. Who did the star think he was to bring up my parents.

"Yup, those parents must think your something! Wouldn't they be disappointed that you're on Eosphoros though? It's not very responsible of you. It's quite stupid actually. You are the Sun warrior, I'm sure there's a lot of people that want to kill you, and as a weak girl, you wouldn't be able to defend yourself. You would be such a disappointment to your parents if you were killed," the star would not shut up. Tears stung my eyes as he continued, he struck every nerve, made sure to use everything that would push my buttons and make me emotional, it was almost as though he knew me, knew what would make me upset and knew the exact things to say that would unhinge me. You Never bring up my parents, you Never call me Irresponsible, you Never challenge my intelligence, and you Never, Ever call me weak!

Rage made it hard for me to breathe, tears of anger blurred my vision and I feel a surge of power bolt through me like a lightning strike, then it's all gone.

All my anger is gone and I feel tired, my knees feeling like jelly, but that's not what scares me. The black smoldering star in front of me frightens me. The star now lies on the ground, a pile of burnt ashes. I must use sun powers that I didn't even know I had. I must have used the sun to burn him. Terror settles In and I'm on the edge of a panic attack, I just killed a star. I just killed a star. I just killed a star, but I can't freak out, I stand up and as I stand the ashes of the star floats with the wind far away from me. The only thing that remains from the star was a small pouch that the star must have been carrying along with him.

The pouch was open and spilling out of it was small bronze metals in the shape of stars. It might mean something so I pick it up and run out of the courtyard. I didn't mean to kill the star, I didn't even mean to use my abilities. I didn't even know how to do that, how can you do something without being taught to do it?