When Stars Fall (NaNoWriMo22)

Chapter 1

Unfamiliar aches flare up and down an unfamiliar body. Fingers twitch against the cold dirt as I test the mobility of my newly found joints. I feel heavy and small. It's odd. My eyes open hesitantly at this foreign world. I am greeted by a view I have never seen before. A dark blanket of winking lights covering the vast, open space above me. To my horrors, I recognize where I am.

I wield my body to move, stubbornly pushing the pain away. A whimper escapes my lips as I take slow, deep breaths. The pain settles the further up I position myself. I cannot believe that King has done this to establish his line. A jewel for a throne? It is simply archaic! I search the ground for the little trinket that dragged me down to earth, but I am only met with the glassed over ground. My hand swipes the materials gently. I've never seen such a thing before. I lean over and push myself up. The feel of cold metal sliding across my skin alarms me. I nearly swat at it. I run my fingers over the jewel that has invaded my life. "Splendid."

With shaky, unsteady legs, I try and stand. I glance up at the night sky, searching for the home I was abducted from. My sisters and brothers shine gloriously up where I used to be. Most humans wouldn't notice, but there in between where I used to be, is a vacant spot. My spot. My heart yearns to go back. "Sisters," I call onto them, "brothers, help me. Send me a guide that'll have the courage to help me survive the horrors that await me here." I get no answer. Of course, I shan't have expected as much. It isn't much darker down here than it is up there. I'm sure they can see me clearly, vulnerable and weak. Like a human.

I'm set in not being here too long. My presence in Beyond has surely been noticed by many. I don't need to risk capture any more than I already have. Looking around at my crater, I truly notice how big it actually is. I've only ever seen it from above. The main point, that I've tried to avoid, is that it'll take forever to climb out of here in this body. The hopelessness hangs low over my head, but the fear of being found is the only emotion that pushes me forward. It's so human. Hopelessness. Fear. I've never felt them so...heightened. The idea that something so simple can feel so real has never crossed my mind before. I think about that as I carefully climb up the walls of the crater.

By the time I do make it out, the sun has started to creep from the horizon. "Oh, wonderful." I pull my mortal body over the last ledge. "Just wonderful. Of course, it took me to sunrise!" I wipe the mud off my hands on the skirts of my dress as I quickly walk towards the wood. It only takes a second for me to submerge into the scents of nature. All consuming and all powerful. It is incredibly unusual for me. Alarming, really. As is the exhaustion that has suddenly washed over my body. I should keep going, I think. I know I should run as far as I can from the crater, my movements seem to anchor down to the floor. My energy has all but gone. My body begins to painfully ache once again.

I lean against a random trunk of a random tree and shrink down to the ground. The adrenaline seeps out of my body, fear and sadness taking hold of my heart. "Oh, my sibling! What shall I do?"  I place my head down on the roots of the tree. "How shall I survive this if Maraynia couldn't?" My question drifts away within the morning gale along with my will to stay awake. I try to blink away my drowsiness. I try to gain back my strength. It didn't matter. I drifted off to sleep and dreamed my first dream.

It felt like I closed my eyes for just a second before I opened them again. I awake disoriented by the light and confused. It didn't take long for me to remember where I am. I am in the mortal world. In Realm Beyond. But why would I wake? I hear the rustle of leaves, the chirps of the morning birds, and the few buzzes of small insects here and there. Nothing too unusual. I admire the cohesive nature of it all. Every living thing in works with each other rather than against. They give and take according to what's needed. I am in awe at it. Being so far away, I was unable to appreciate the smaller things.

But, behind all the other noise, is a strange one. One that I cannot place. What is that? It's like a...hiss? Or...or rain? I'm not sure. I step out of the protection of my tree and look up at the midday sky. It's too bright to make out anything but I can still hear that strange sound. It gets louder and louder as it comes closer and closer. I squint my eyes as I closely inspect the cloudless day. A sharp, white glare cuts through the day sky much closer than I thought it was. Another Star? Falling from the skies? No, it cannot be. It does not appear to be any of my sister and brothers. I can't help but foolishly stare at it as it comes closer. What else could it be but a Star, I wonder. It is rare to see something fall from the sky in the middle of the day. Unless...My eyes widen, a tab bit too late, as I realize that this projectile is heading straight towards my part of the wood. Right where I am.

Clumsily, my legs sprint deeper into the wood as fast as they can carry me. I am frantic! In panic. I pump my arms with the rhythm of my pounding steps. I smell the strong scent of sulfur second before I hear the snapping of wood behind me. I scream once it crashes onto the ground, the impact slightly shoving me into an Evergreen. What the bloody hell...I twirl around and look at the mess. Chunks of trees are littered around the forest bed. I silently mourn at the loss as I fix my eyes on the perpetrator of this destruction. He simply stands there in awe, his hands clutched around a burned-out candle. His eyes finally land on me and asks, "Am I beyond the Wall of Stones?"