Legends of the Stars

Chapter 21: Heart of Darkness

Chapter 21

Heart of Darkness

July 22nd, 2019 AE, 9:21 AM

At nine o'clock the next morning, the entire village woke up with an air of intense foreboding. Hardly anyone could sleep the night before, as each minute brought them all dangerously close to Judgment Day. While the weather was utterly cloudy, it was still the hottest day of the entire year. It was like the earth was heating up beneath us, practically on the verge of exploding.

The soldiers gathered around the town square, anxiously waiting for Revan to make his speech. All their fears and worries were vented into a sea of murmurs that seemed to echo throughout the village. However, when Jaden and Astra arrived on the scene, they all cut their conservations and turned towards them.

"What?" Jaden asked.

Everyone immediately turned their heads away and continued their conversations.

"There you are, you two lovebirds!"

A sudden shock ran through Jaden as someone greeted him with a slap on the back. He turned around to see it was Jesse, dressed in his usual red jacket and orange bandana. With him, Kaylah was dressed in her greenish-blue coat while Darek wore his armored fatigues. They were all armed with their trusty weapons, but none of them could hurt Jaden and Astra more than what their friends would say next.

"Oh, hey guys. What's up?" Jaden asked awkwardly.

"Don't play dumb. We know you and Astra made out last night!"

They were both so stunned by this revelation, it felt like a flaming arrow had pierced through both their hearts.

"Wait, what?! How?!"

"Revan went over to check on you guys last night, and he saw you."

"What? How long was he there?"

"Long enough," Darek answered smugly.

"Oh my God." Jaden hung his head down as he and Astra looked away in embarrassment.

"Hey, don't feel bad. We're happy for you two. Seriously!" Kaylah assured.

She looked Jaden straight in the eye, and her kind eyes and soft smile immediately put him at ease. But he was unaware of how she was painfully holding her cheeks up like a pair of fishing hooks. In truth, Kaylah was happy for them, but her smile was still forced: a fake grin she hoped would replace the pain she felt inside. Though she did have feelings for Jaden, she valued their friendship more.

"Thanks, Kaylah," Astra said happily.

Jaden and Astra smiled as they knew their friends stood by their budding romance. But when they all turned away, Kaylah's smile slowly faded as she mourned what could have been.

"I hope you don't mind me asking, but...when did all this start?" asked Jesse.

"Well..." Jaden pondered aloud. "I guess we made it official yesterday."

"Not that!" he corrected. "I mean, when did you first have feelings for each other?"

Though Jaden spent some time finding the answer, Astra stepped in and answered for him.

"Well, I guess for me, it started about six months ago. I was on my daily patrols, so I had to keep track of all our fighters. And so, as I walking through town, I found Jaden sitting about at the local festival. At first, I didn't like seeing him like that. I thought that while everyone else was on duty, protecting the people, he was lounging on the job."