Twinkle Twinkle

Chapter Six

When they reached the willow, it was dusk. Star supported Dayna as Jack climbed up the tree. She gave him Dayna's hand and pushed her up. She followed after they hoisted her up on a branch. Star climbed higher and higher until she reached the top of the tree where she could see the stars. She settled on a sturdy branch and stared at what looked like twinkling little lights in the night sky. But to her, these weren't just twinkling little lights. These were her people. Her sad eyes rested on the moon. "F-Father? Please come visit me. I'm so lonely." She whispered. Jack came out of the leaves and sat beside her. "Dayna's awake." He said, not looking at her. Star nodded. Jack turned his head to her. "You ok? I heard you talking...to the...uh..,moon." Star looked down and bared her straight teeth. "It is not just the moon" she growled. Jack looked closely at her. Her bones showed against her skin, like she had an eating disorder or something. Her long white hair cascaded down her back like a cape. Her now purple eyes looked bright and bold against her pale skin. Her pink lips stood out on her pained face. "Ok. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you. But... Can I just ask why?"
Star hesitated. "That's my Father. The Sun is my mother." She said stiffly. Jack nodded uneasily. "How long have you and Dayna been friends?" Jack bit his lip. "Oh...uh...she's actually...my girlfriend." He said awkwardly. Star's purple eyes faded back into pink for a flash. "Really? She does not seem too..." She struggled for the right word. "Girlfreindy" she said, narrowing her eyes in effort. Jack laughed. "Yeah, she... She's been through a lot in the past month. Anyway, what's with the whole color-changing-eyeballs thing?" He asked. Star shrugged. "Mother and Father always told me to hide my emotions. And I did. But, since none of my emotions could ever escape, they started showing through my eyes." She looked at him and wiggled her dark eyebrows. Jack laughed and looked into her eyes. For such a young kid, her eyes held intelligence and wisdom that was beyond any other world he could have imagined. But along with that intelligence, were the innocence and mischief of a young child. Her eyes seemed to smile and sparkle, and held a message no one could read. He blinked and looked away. Star looked up at the moon again. Jack looked at the branch beneath him. "I know this is going to be hard, but I need you to tell me what you saw in that cave." Star paused and stiffened. "Why?" She said coldly. "Because we need to know what we're up against. Like, what they can do and stuff." She held her knees to her chest as her eyes shifted back to yellow. "None of this will make sense unless I tell you the history" she began. "In the beginning, each time a star fell from the sky in became a case or a shell. After ten days, the shell cracked and a Star- like, me Star not the stars in the sky- came out. But back then, there were dangerous predators in the forest who had a taste for these unhatched Stars. So the Sun and the Moon combined their powers to create the Star Keeper, or the Star Guard. Our Star Keeper was Nina, but..." She paused and tilted her head. "She... I do not know. But something in her mind just snapped, and she started capturing all of the newborn Stars and anybody who knew about them. That is probably why she captured you, thinking you knew something. Anyway, she started forcing them to find a way to change her into a Star. Each time they failed, she killed them. She kept me alive because she knew I had promise in her dream. But each time I failed..." Star paused and toke a deep, shuddering breath. "She..." Tears came to her eyes as she rocked back and forth. "She..." Her eyes widened. "I cannot cry." She whispered. "Crying is weak" she said struggling to push the tears back. Jack looked back at her. "It's ok to cry. It's ok to be human." Star looked up. "NO!!! I AM NOT HUMAN!!!" She yelled. "YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND!!"