Starshine, Sky, and the Power of Rock

Memories - Starshine

All I remember happening beforehand is my little fingers aching. It was a really common occurrence in those days. I have no recollection of what I was actually doing at the time, not that it matters much. Some sort of menial service, I'm sure, because I was always trying to earn a bit of extra cash then. We all were, because the orphanage needed some repairs and we were hungry.

Well, anyway, the alarm went off. Again. The third time that month. I dropped whatever I was doing immediately, because I knew if I hung around, my being a little girl was no reason for them to spare me. I ran, ran as fast as my tiny legs would allow, until I was back at the orphanage with the other kids.

I could practically smell the pure adrenaline in the panic room. Kids were crying, shaking, fuzzy ears flat against their heads. My automatic fight-or-flight response was going off, too, but my thoughts weren't focused on self-preservation at all. I knew they'd never so much as touched the orphanage, and probably never would, though not for lack of trying. It was all thanks to the Band of Light, who I knew would come any minute now. In the meantime, I was much more concerned about the rest of the village. The Band of Darkness always came in from the east, and left a line of destruction as they made their way west, the direction I was now. I'd once had the misfortune of being caught outside during one of their raids, and the images that incident left branded on my mind still haven't left me. I got sick thinking of the loss of life that was happening outside those walls, while I just sat there, doing nothing, saving my own skin. I thought of the Band of Light, thundering in on a rainbow of flying horses, guitars and basses and drums and keyboards and the clearest voices working together, producing the most wondrous sound to grace my ears. The percussive music rolled in my chest, even if now only my mind's ear knew it was playing. Despite the casualties that managed to slip through, the Band of Light prevented so, so much pain and destruction every time. The Band of Darkness didn't stand a chance, even if they were rather scary...

But what about right then? It would take a bit for the Band of Light to come. What preventable tragedies were happening that I couldn't see? No... No, no, no, I couldn't just sit there anymore. I hardly processed the world around me, the panic room door opening, the protests of caretakers and children alike, the rumbling of the Band of Darkness's rhythmic cacophony growing louder and louder...

Without any instruments, without any training, without any clue what I was going to do to stop them, I marched directly in the Band of Darkness's line of fire. I'd never really looked at these monsters that closely before. I hadn't looked at any monster that closely, really. Mangy werewolves foaming at the mouth, zombies rotting in real time, mummies hiding who knows what behind those grimy bandages, and the vampires... The vampires, including the king of the monsters and his two younger sisters, had the complexions of corpses, mad eyes sunken and red, and razor-sharp fangs that could easily tear through my young flesh. But I couldn't back down. Jaw set, arms spread wide as though they couldn't get around me, I kept my feet planted.

The Band of Darkness stopped, exchanged puzzled looks for a moment. Not for fear of harming me, obviously, but because the image must have been ridiculous to everyone except me. What happened next, on the other hand, would be written in history books for centuries to come.

Purely because it was the closest thing to an instrument I had, I opened my mouth wide and sang. There were no lyrics, only notes, clear and pure and strong, from high in my chest because my technique was terrible but still so powerful that the monsters struggled to fight back.

That glorious moment would have been my last had the Band of Light not come to finish the job, but the fact that I'd managed to start it in the first place was very interesting to all who witnessed my first performance. Once the Band of Darkness had been driven away, and the damage assessed, I was approached by none other than Her Majesty, Queen Diamond Shine of the Land of Light. I was simply frozen in her regal presence. From the diadem atop her wavy, powder blue hair to her buckled combat boots she was absolutely dripping with her namesake. Strapped across her leather-clad back was an impressively sized double-necked guitar. Even her pale blue skin had a natural opalescence to it, which carried over to the elegant unicorn horn protruding from her forehead.

She only silently and expressionlessly regarded me for a moment, and I her, for I had no clue how to speak to a queen. Then, she slowly stooped until she was at eye level with me.

"What is your name, my child?" she asked.

After a second's hesitation, I responded, "Star."

Now it was her turn to hesitate. She was clearly trying to prioritize what was no doubt a long list of questions. "May I speak to your parents, Star?" she decided on.

"I'm an orphan," I replied.

So, she had me escorted to the orphanage, and I was allowed to sit in on a long conversation between her and the caretakers. I said little, because processing all the information being thrown at me was enough of a task to keep me occupied for hours. What I picked up on, though, was that I was part of a prophesy of some sort, and that she would absolutely love to train me personally. She even offered to take me off their hands, and have me live in the palace with her and her wife, Queen Sunshine. The caretakers emphatically agreed, and so did I, so the adoption papers were brought out and, to make a long story short, my current name is Her Royal Highness, Princess Starshine of the Land of Light, and I am destined to save my kingdom from the jaws of invasion by the monsters from the Isle of Isolation.