Starlight Dream

Chapter 59

"What is this place?" While frightened, Botan seemed uncharacteristically intrigued. They'd entered a bright light, their footsteps floating on nothingness. Its whiteness filled their very existence. The cave on a dead world vanished like a distant memory.

"How do you describe something whole, yet greater?" Kiyojiro replied.

"Stop speaking in riddles," the fairy snapped. "Just give me a damn straight answer."

"I don't know myself," Kiyojiro admitted. "But it invited us here for a reason."

"Well, then show yourself already!" But no reply came to Botan's challenge. Her voice didn't even echo. Trapped by nothingness, nothing was available for the sound to bounce off of. The light really seemed to continue forever. Was this it? Had he trapped them in the void for nothing? No, he refused to give up. Too much was at stake!

"Please, help us! My ward, my charge, my daughter is in danger, and we need your help!" Kiyojiro shook with emotion, speaking with feeling. "Whatever the cost, please, I'll do anything!"

"Me too!" The fairy said, blurting out the words. "That monster killed my brother, destroyed my world, and I'm aching for some payback!"

Kiyojiro gave the irate fairy a strange look. "What? I'm speaking from the heart, too! So what if my motives aren't pure? What do you expect from a fairy, the terrors of the cosmos?" Botan snapped.

Perfect! Did his companion's selfishness ruin their chances of helping Seina? But despite that, warmth greeted him, inviting and kind. Despite the rough nature of its guests, it welcomed them warmly.

"I..." Botan paused, lost for words. She had sensed it, too.

Words didn't come to him, exactly, but he got impressions. The Heart of Starlight had long lost its ability to speak, more a distant echo than a person. But the ancient fairy queen's kindness continued to live on. Hate and malice weren't the only emotions that could linger.

"Is it that simple?" Kiyojiro said, tilting his head in puzzlement.

"Yeah! He's a guy! This won't work!" Botan said. She paused, considering. "Right?"

"I don't see why not. No one ever said a man couldn't bond with a fairy."

"No, it's a profanation of the highest order!" Botan said in protest, outraged.

"Your brother, Colten, didn't care about traditional fairy values either. He bonded with a helpless, desperate girl only to save a single life."

"It's the principle of the thing!"

Kiyojiro closed his eyes, understanding what gift the Heart had given them. "We're being offered more than magical power, Botan. But it'll cost us." Of everyone who'd come to Starlight Dream, the Heart had only offered it to them. Hope, not power, had opened the choice to them.

When Botan hesitated, Kiyojiro smiled. "Your resistance gives you credit. This kind of power shouldn't be taken lightly." He paused, considering. Had Charity led them through her future visions to get this odd pair to this very moment? Remarkable.

"I suppose we must," Botan finally said. "I'll let you be my partner, even if you're nothing but a dumb gorilla."

Kiyojiro only smirked, taking the fairy's tiny paw. "I'm ready. Don't worry, Seina. We're coming." The words barely left his mouth before the light consumed them both.

---

"You again," Seina said, growling. Vampires were such a plague. The life-draining aura returned with a vengeance, stealing the breath from her lungs. But its grip had tightened, making even beating her heart difficult.