A Song of Stars

One

We'd never leave if it were up to us.
No wait, we do want to leave.
But it's not up to us.

"Maybe we can bring some plant life back with us if we leave." Wren sighed at the comment that Simon had made as she spun the stardust within her hand. That was the thing, if they leave. They had been at Nod for 3 months now and their chances of leaving there were very slim. Fiddler Mary and Fiddler Cole were always out looking for a way to get them out. Robin and Maya were always gone with the reform and stuff. And then Outsiders and City Dwellers alike were either busy with the reform or they were too afraid to approach them. Wren never understood why they decided to keep their distance. Was it because they were Alchemists in a Magician's world? Was it because they feared the power that her and her friends held? Or did they just not like them? These were questions that she feared would probably never be answered.

"Why are you always so focused on science and stuff? I just want to find a way to get out of this place." Jack swiftly said as soon Simon made his comment.

"Jack calm down, we'll get out of here soon," Wren paused for a second thinking about what she had just said. She knew she was lying to them both and herself. They had been saying that for months now to no avail.

Jack must have been reading her thoughts or something cause he once again swiftly replied only with a tone in his voice this time. "Yeah! I can't wait until we get out of here! And tell me, Wren, when will that happen? Oh yeah, never."

She knew he was probably right, but she really didn't feel like admitting it. "Jack-"

"No, don't you dare 'Jack' me. I'm tired of us always saying that we're going to get out of here. But do we? No, no we don't. We're just telling ourselves all of these lies to believe even though we all know that it's not happening. And another thing, don't you try and tell me otherwise cause you also know that you'd be lying once again and quite honestly, I'm tired of it."

Wren and Simon just sat in stunned silence for a few minutes. One second Simon was talking about a small simple thing and the next Jack was on their case. But could they really blame him for feeling that way? They had all started growing tired of staying at Nod. As nice as everything and everyone was, they had Earth waiting for them to come back home. Wren and Simon still had families to come home to. Neither of them had been expecting to be gone this long, so they didn't even bother with telling them. Wren's family knew what her life was like now, but she still felt bad for leaving them without notice. Simon's, on the other hand, had no clue what he was doing. They thought that he was just helping out with a falcon internship at the local college, not off learning how to control a substance that they couldn't even see. They couldn't even imagine how worried they must've been.

They were soon snapped from their thoughts when they heard the door open. "Oh, I think that you should have some hope, Jack." Mary stood in the doorway with a smile upon her face.

"Fiddler Mary! Uh, erm.." Jack sputtered as he tried to find a way to backtrack his words. Mary waved her hand at him to silence him. "Don't bother, it's fine. Can't really blame you for your words, we're all frustrated, but I think I have just the thing that can change all that."

"Wait, what do you mean you have the thing that can change all of this," Simon said, quickly springing up from the chair he was sitting in. "Are we finally gonna get to leave?!"

"Follow me and you'll see." Mary turned from them and left the room they had been occupying. Jack wasted absolutely no time and sprinted after her as Wren and Simon followed. After following Mary through the winding streets of Nod, they ended up a small bakery. The scent of bread and cake filled the air as they entered, which only ended up making them crave for the items that the scent came from.

After they purchased some of the food, they went to go sit at a table. "So," Jack started as he popped a small piece bread into his mouth. "Why are we here?"

"Maya told me to get you all and bring you here so that we could meet up with her," Mary responded as she stirred some sugar into a cup of tea.

"Maya?" Wren wondered aloud. "I thought she was busy with Nod's reform."

"Who cares? We might actually be able to go back home!" Simon said with excitement in his voice.

As soon as Simon finished speaking, two people entered the small bakery.

"We might be able to." They turned around to see Cole and Maya walking over to their table.

"But it all depends," Maya said as they stopped at their table and took a seat. Wren and Mary moved over as they took their seats.

"What you mean that it all depends?" Jack said as a frown started to appear on his face. "I thought we were gonna go home!"

"It all depends if we can find the equipment."

Wren's expression became puzzled. "What equipment?"

Maya sighed and then suddenly looked serious. "Equipment I should have been keeping my eye on as soon as I heard about it."

"But what equipment? There's probably tons of the same thing you're talking about," Simon commented.

"No, this, this was special," Maya said as her voice started to take on a tone as if she was about to start telling a story. "This equipment belonged to the only person who managed to escape Nod before the plague. His name was Adam Young..."