Stars & Hearts: A Heartless/Lunar Chronicles Crossover

One

Cath looked around at her friends nervously. Raven, Jest, Mary Ann, Hatta.

Murderer, martyr, monarch, mutilated, mad.

She shivered and put the vial to her lips. They were so close. Chess. Her bakery. A life with Jest. They would be real. Cath took a small, quick sip of the elixir. Jest took the vial from her trembling hands, his yellow eyes wide with worry. "Cath?"

Cath nodded and tried to smile at him just as she started to shrink. The floor came rushing toward her; the table and her friends towered overhead. She was the same height as the vial when she finished shrinking. An enormous hand descended to lift her to the table and the Looking Glass. Mary Ann laughed anxiously as she peered at the miniature version of her best friend in her palm. "Are you all right?" she asked.

Raven sighed heavily. "Nevermore," he said.

"Are you mostly right, Cath?" Jest asked while Hatta observed the doors around the room with a mild interest. Catherine nodded again, knowing they probably wouldn't be able to hear her voice. She pointed to the Looking Glass. "Good luck," Mary Ann breathed as she set her on the table.

Cath perched unsteadily on the glass table, disconcerted by the way she appeared to be standing on air. She slid over to the Looking Glass, took a deep breath and, with a last glance at Jest, she jumped through the mirror's surface.

It was like falling through a sheet of cool water, except she was perfectly dry afterwards. Catherine found herself standing in the middle of a field of crops in a night with a full moon and swirls of stars. She drunk in her surroundings as she waited for the others.

Crickets chirped nearby and music and laughter echoed from a farmhouse a little ways off. The air carried the faint perfume of flowers in the gardens. Cath sighed happily. So this was Chess. It seemed beautiful so far. She could even spot a creek from where she stood.

After only a few minutes, Mary Ann appeared next to her out of thin air, tying knots into the strings of her bonnet. "I never want to shrink again."

"Don't be silly, it wasn't all that bad. Besides, look at where we are, Mary Ann. We made it to Chess!" Catherine's smile was contagious.

Mary Ann grinned slightly. "I guess you're right. Oh, Cath, I can't believe we're really here!" Mary Ann squeezed Cath's hand. "Thank you for bringing me." Cath squeezed back. "You're my best friend. I could never leave you behind."

Just then, Raven materialized and flew in dizzying circles over their heads. "'Tis good to be home," he exclaimed.

Jest and Hatta arrived within moments of each other. As he admired their surroundings, Hatta looked happier than Cath had ever seen him. Jest took Cath's other hand and grinned at the world they found themselves in. "I've never been to this part of Chess before," he said. "Have you, Hatta?"

Hatta's contentment began to fade, giving way to a scowl. "No," he replied, leaning down to inspect the field below their feet. "I've been all over Chess, but I don't think this is part of it. See?" He pointed to the ground. "There's no checkerboard."

Jest squinted at the grass he was standing on in silence. Then he nodded. "You're right."

"Maybe we could ask someone," Cath suggested. "Just to be sure."

Mary Ann and Raven had stayed quiet, but at this Mary Ann began tying knots in her bonnet's strings again. "I suppose," she said.

"It could do us no harm to discover the secrets within that barn," Raven agreed.

"I'm pretty sure it could," Hatta muttered. Cath ignored him and started walking slowly toward the barn and the house next to it. The music hadn't stopped. Jest followed her closely, his hand still in hers as Raven perched on his shoulder. Mary Ann took a hesitant step forward, but Hatta stayed put.

"Hatta...?" Jest asked. Hatta glared at Cath.

"I only have so much Time, and I'm not going to waste it asking some farmer for directions when they could just as easily attack us. We don't know what we're walking into here, Jest."

Cath glared right back. "If we have another option, I'd love to hear it," she said. When Hatta stayed quiet, she continued toward the house. Eventually, Hatta shrugged reluctantly and followed.

The farmhouse was quaint, but charming. It was two stories high and overgrown with ivy, though the white walls still showed in many places. As they approached the buildings, Cath gasped in amazement. A spaceship was directly in front of the ancient barn. From the expressions on her friends' faces, they were just as awestruck as she was. Catherine had heard about spaceships in stories, but never in her wildest dreams would she have imagined she could see one in real life.

"We're definitely not in Chess," Jest breathed. Raven abandoned his post on Jest's shoulder and flew to the top of the ship.

"Things such as this do not take command in the mysterious countryside of Wonderland," Raven commented. Mary Ann's eyes were wide as saucers as she examined the ship. Cath could practically hear the gears whirring in her friend's head as she calculated its schematics.

"Come on," Hatta finally said. "Let's not waste an entire night staring at what's most likely an illusion."

"'Tis not an illusion," Raven said, ruffling his feathers. Cath turned away from the spaceship and trudged the last few steps to the front door. Jest's hand was still clutched in hers. Hatta stayed by Jest's side; Mary Ann brought up the rear of the group. The night was relatively cool, but it was starting to feel uncomfortably warm to Cath under her long, thick petticoats.

The white paint on the front door of the house was peeling, revealing the dark wood beneath. As she stood in its shadow, the house had a homey air about it, which was increased by the music, voices, and laughter from inside. Someone was having a party, Cath guessed.

"It's now or never," Jest whispered to her. She could feel Hatta's impatience radiating toward her, mixed with his apparent disapproval of her. Cath was determined to prove that her plan was actually a good one. Inhaling sharply, Cath raised her fist and, before she could lose her nerve, knocked three times.