Stargazer

Chapter 1 – Hidden Past

She could only remember faintly where she was. It was as she just snapped out of a trance. She bit her lip and looked into the large mirror in her bedroom. She looked at her own reflection. Smoothing down her long, flowing jet-black hair, she sighed. She looked the exactly the same everyday, her big, expressive eyes were the same, her feminine nose and small mouth were unchanged, she was still the same plain girl. Yet, something was different, she felt it, but didn’t know exactly what was wrong. Suddenly, she remembered, she lifted up the sleeve of her loose-fitting blouse to reveal a small, but visible star shaped scar. She didn’t recall how she received it, but she wanted to find out.

She didn’t know anything; all she reminisced was being grabbed by a man and being hit out cold with something heavy. She rubbed her head absently at where she was hit. It was very painful, but it wasn’t as throbbing sore as the other night. She didn’t know why they brought her there, why her, of all people? She wasn’t special, and she wasn’t rich either, she was just ordinary, she was just a little common girl. Why would they want her? Why did they take her away from her home and from her family?

 The thought of her family made her eyes well up in tears. She wondered if Papa and Mama were worried that she didn’t come home when she should’ve. She thought if her little white kitten, Beaux, would miss her. Would someone be there to feed her pet? She wasn’t sure. She wondered about her younger sister, Harmony, would she even know that she was gone and perhaps never to return? Would anyone miss her?

She wiped away her tears; it was no use crying over. They would never find her. She didn’t even know where exactly was she. She never recalled such a place, but she felt she’d been there before. It seemed so familiar, yet distant. She was so confused.

Her pondering was interrupted by a knocking on the door.

“Amethyst, dear. Are you ready to come down for breakfast?” a sweet voice called.

She glanced at the mirror again and examined her reflection. The only parts of her face she liked were her striking, deep violet eyes. They weren’t very common, and nobody in her family had them, she had been told. Her eyes looked like Amethyst, perhaps that was why her mother named her after the gem, because of her eyes. She wondered why they knew her name though, ever since she arrived, she didn’t utter a word, though she was usually very talkative.

Amethyst slowly walked towards the large door of the chamber she’d been sleeping in for the last few days. It was very spacious, and elegant, like a room fit for a princess. If she was just a mere captive, why did they let her stay in such a room? Weren’t prisoners usually made to stay in dungeons? Why did they treat her less like the prisoner she already was? Her head was filled with questions as she walked out of the room and sat in one of the chairs of the dining room.

A kind looking old man was sitting in one of the many chairs and was looking at her intently, smiling at her with no apparent reason. She, in return, just stared. She usually dined alone. What was he doing here? She didn’t dare ask, instead, she took her fork and began to poke at her food.

Sure, her food was delicious, but she presumed if she didn’t eat or speak, they might get frustrated with her and send her back home. So far, her plan didn’t work. Sighing, she twisted a little pasta on her fork, imagining how it felt like to stroke her little sister’s hair once again. She was so homesick!

The man suddenly spoke up. “Amethyst, I know you’re hungry. Eat up, there’s no poison there. As soon as you’re done, I’ll ask Bella to send you upstairs for a bath.”

Amethyst looked up. He was no longer staring at her, but eating heartily. Her stomach was growling. She hadn’t eaten for all the time she was there, after all. She looked longingly at her food. Her food looked enticingly delicious, but she wouldn’t give in to temptation.

The old man eyed her warily. “Are you not going to eat again? Surely, you are hungry, but why deny it? My dear child, I fear you will fall ill with that fasting habit of yours! Can you not take just even a tiny bite? I beg of you.”

She saw sadness in the man’s eyes and felt a little sorry for him. She didn’t know why she pitied her captor, or why he seemed to be so concerned for her. Reluctantly, she took a bite of her roast chicken.

The taste was heavenly and she was famished. Without realizing it, she had already eaten everything on her plate. She heard a soft chuckle. The man was laughing at her, the nerve of him!

He spoke again, “My, my, what an appetite! Where do you put all that? Well, I better call Bella now.”

He clapped his hands and in an instant, a middle-aged woman rushed in. She was slightly plump and had sandy hair and kind hazel eyes.

In the same sweet voice Amethyst heard earlier, she bustled over and took the girl by the arm, leading her to the bathroom. “Come m’dear. Time for your bath, you could do with a nice warm bath right now, to wash that sleep from your eyes.”

The girl merely nodded as she followed the maid through large halls, finally stopping at a fairly huge door. 

The woman let go of Amethyst’s arm and smiled. “Well, off you go, deary. Your clothes are already ready and your water is already heated. I’ll be waiting here to escort you back to your room when you’re done.”

Amethyst stepped inside the room and closed the door. The sight before her took her breath away.

Everything was so beautiful. The floor was made from the finest black marble; the faucets seemed to be pure gold, the gigantic tub itself looked like ivory, in fact it looked more like a small pool than a bathtub.

She quickly undressed and soaked herself luxuriously in the fragrant warm water. She took a bar of soap and began to clean herself thoroughly.

At once, she forgot her entire situation. She felt at peace, but not entirely. Her heart was still aching for her family, her friends, everything. She wondered if she’d see them again.

Salty tears started to roll down her cheeks. She stood up and wiped herself dry with a large warm towel. Amethyst knew that the more she thought of them, the more she would cry, and she didn’t like crying very much. To her, it made you weak, so weak that people could take advantage of you, and she didn’t want anyone to ever to assume that she was a little weakling.

She looked at one of the large tables and knocked on it; it was sturdy.

Probably made of Narra wood, that one, she exclaimed to herself while examining every inch of the surface.

She picked up the dress that was on the counter. It was very beautiful. It was azure in color with opals covering it in a pattern of a crescent. The cloth was flowing like silk and smooth like satin. The girl put in on and gasped. It didn’t even feel like any ordinary material, it felt just like a light envelope of air around her. The material flowed while she walked like the smooth waves of the ocean.

 She ran a fine-toothed ivory comb through her now only slightly wet hair, carefully unknotting each and every tangle and sighed. She knew she couldn’t stay locked up like this. Either she would try her best to find out what they wanted from her or she would make their lives a living nightmare. How to do that, she did not know, but she was still determined to know all she could.

When Amethyst went outside the chamber, Bella was already there to escort her to the library where she often spent her lonely, boring afternoons. It appeared that the maid was always there; she was there every morning to call her for breakfast, lunch, and dinner; she was there to accompany her to the gigantic sitting room for afternoon tea; she was everywhere Amethyst was, constantly attending to her, and making sure she would not wander off into rooms she shouldn’t be pondering into. Somehow, the girl knew that there was perhaps some mystery behind everything, maybe it was all not as it all seemed.

Maybe, but she didn’t have the slightest clue to anything in that whole big castle. Well, the place was so big, it seemed to be a castle, or so it seemed.

Amethyst was going towards the direction of the library, when the servant suddenly tugged her arm.

“’M sorry, m’dear, but you’re going in the wrong direction. Sir made strict orders to bring you to his study after your bath. Me guess is a little of your attentiveness was washed along with your dirt in your bath, aye? Now, come along, we mustn’t keep Sir waiting, he tends to be impatient sometimes.”

The girl just nodded as they came to as stop at big oak door with golden doorknobs.

The woman urged her to go forward.

Slowly, she placed her small, white hand on the handle and opened the door.

The room was nice and cozy. It had several large, squashy armchairs and a fire was merrily crackling at the fireplace with its orange flames dancing about. Paintings of autumn scenery were mounted on the walls, and the wallpaper was in warm earth tones. There was a desk in one of the corners of the room, behind it was what seemed to be the largest of the armchairs, and on that chair was the old man she had eaten with at breakfast time.

He adjusted his gold-framed spectacles. “Well, well, well, Amethyst Elderwood, so pleased you could join me. However, I daresay you haven’t any other choice.”

He grinned as he motioned to one of the chairs nearest to his table. “Please do sit down, my lady, and make yourself comfortable.”

She hesitantly sat down and faced him.

“I know, Amethyst, I know you want to go home. I know you want to see your family again. I know you refuse to eat and speak to spite us. I know everything. Don’t try to deny it or hide it from me. I also know, however, that you want answers. You want answers to your questions; you want to know why we took you, you want to know the reason for everything. That’s why I summoned you here right now; I feel that now is the right time, the right opportunity to tell you what you need to know, to tell you the truth.

He looked at her earnestly in the eyes before continuing. “You see everything you thought you knew was a lie. Everything you believed in was false. Your life is not what you think it is. It is far more unique and complicated. You thought you were just an ordinary human being, but no, I assure you, that you are not. You are much more than that. I’m not sure how to bring this upon you with the least amount of shock, but Amethyst Elderwood, you are a princess.”

The last statement totally caught her by surprise. She nearly fell out of her chair in disbelief. Her, plain and simple Amethyst Elderwood was a princess? No, it was too strange, yet wonderful to even believe. Even as a little girl, never in her wildest dreams had she thought up such a wild idea as that.

Before she could stop herself, she blurted out, “What? That can’t be! Is this some sort of sick little joke? If I’m a princess, are my family royalty too? What country am I suppose to rule? I need to know!”

Oops, she blew her chance of leaving, but she didn’t care. Her plan was a dud anyway. She was more interested to hear what the weird old man had to say.

He chuckled again. “Slow down, one question at a time! Maybe I should tell you the story first before the questions.

“Okay, where do I begin? Ah, yes, I know you’ve always had this fascination for stars, I saw you all the time, sitting on a blanket on the lawn at night, gazing at the stars. Well, I do know that you’re familiar with Polaris, or ‘the North Star’, well not everything you heard about it is entirely accurate. It’s a very complex thing, but I’ll try my best to enlighten you.

“Far away from this Earth, there was an alternate universe founded by ancient star travelers, millions of years ago. Star travelers, were a tribe of people who lived long ago. Theses gifted individuals were bestowed upon three gifts, the endowment of clairvoyance, great knowledge, and lastly, the ability to travel through space without the use of your so-called ‘modern sciences’. During the past, they were all treated as outcasts, often condemned for trials of witchcraft and such, just because they were different.

“One day, it all changed when a young star traveler named Eso went traveling in space to clear his head. It was said that his parents did not approve of his fiancée, Solaris, who was a regular human, in fear that they would likely be in trouble for bonding between two different tribes. Well, Eso was just floating around, thinking of ways to elope without his parents seeing it in their visions, when suddenly he hit a solid barrier he had never noticed before. He bumped into Polaris itself, and thought of it as an adventure to go even farther, to find out what was after it. As he was gliding around behind it, he suddenly found himself in a small universe, which he proudly called Solaris. He examined it a bit and found that for a universe, it was quite small. It only had two planets, three moons per planet, and a great ball of ice, which strangely enough, radiated heat. The only thing that excited him greatly was the fact that one of the planets was exactly like earth, except for the fact that it’s atmosphere was plastered with billions of stars. If you must know, stars are the source of the great wisdom of star travelers, so I guarantee you that it was a great consolation. He named the first heavenly body Polaria and went off to check out the other one. To his dismay, the other celestial body was nothing much like Polaria, it was livable all right, but it was very dark and cold, which was a not a very pleasant thing. He called that one Rimeland. Pleased with himself, he flew back to Earth to tell the other star travelers of his great discovery. He convinced them to migrate to Polaria, where he knew they would be happy. He also managed to take along Solaris with him. There, Eso and Solaris married and became the first rulers of Polaria.”

Amethyst suddenly interrupted him. “Well, what does this have to do with me? I don’t see any connection.”

“Hold your horses, girl. I’m getting there. Anyway, they had two children, Sarralai and Jenaull. Sarralai was a quiet one, that girl. She was always reading and keeping busy. She had the longest red hair that flowed beyond her ankles, and shining emerald green eyes that often grew darker or brighter with her emotions. She was also the nicest girl you’ve ever met, always helping people out and that stuff, but her only bad quality was that she had a very fiery temper. Anyone who even dared to anger her would find himself with such serious physical damage that no doctors could cure.

“Jenaull on the other hand was a little rebel. He inherited his father’s messy blonde hair and his mother’s deep green eyes. He was always getting himself in trouble, the little prankster. Once, he set a tree on fire and it took three hours to get it extinguished. Fires in Polaria, I tell you are almost everlasting. Only the most powerful spell work would get them to die down. Okay, where was I? Ah, yes, Jenaull, outside that arrogant exterior, he was a kind person. He was the solver of problems and the peacemaker in a quarrel. Although he and Sarralai had absolutely nothing in common, they did care about each other a lot.

“One day, a terrible accident occurred. Jenaull was going home from a hunting expedition when a big rogue horse trampled him over. All the Polarians were in grief, but not as mournful as the royal family. The king and queen wept day and night and Sarralai refused to speak.

“She blamed everyone for the death of her brother, especially her parents, who she thought were so stupid as to let him go on his own, on foot without a horse at least. She spited everyone and began to change her personality. She began to care for nothing; she let her loss harden her once warm heart to pure ice. Sarralai was in so much grief that her hair changed from fiery red to snow white.

“She ran away from everything and moved to Rimeland where she started building an army of her own to overthrow her parents. Together with several Polarians who switched sides, she built an empire with her as queen. Rimelanders, as they were called, did not resemble their old Polarian selves at all. They were all ruthless and evil, cold and merciless. She married a man named Damien and they had a child named Raison.

“Anyway, without an heir to take over the throne, Eso and Solaris began to worry. When they died, Sarralai and her family would take over the throne and everyone knew a dark age would emerge. Solaris turned to her half-sister Dania for help, for Dania was very wise. She advised them to bring forth a new heir and their child would marry hers, for she was pregnant and due in six months.

“After a year, Eso and Solaris had twins, one boy and one girl. They named the girl Pharra and the boy Fenwick. Dania had a boy whom she called Sarpedon. Pharra married Sarpedon and they ruled Polaria in harmony, while Fenwick stayed single and became the first high priest of Polaria.

“Raison was not forgotten, when his parents died, of course, he became the emperor of Rimeland and had many wives, namely: Eurynome, Hebe, Climene, Semele, and Alcmen. With these five women, he had ten children, nine of which were boys, and one girl. Together, his offspring formed the Manes Council, which solved the problem of sibling rivalry on the topic of inheriting their father’s throne when he passed away. Several times the Manes Council tried to take over Polaria, but fortunately, all their attempts have failed.

“You, Amethyst Elderwood, are a descendant of Pharra and Sarpedon, their being your mother’s ancestors. Your father, on the other hand, is distantly related to Eso’s half brother. Your parents left Polaria sixteen years ago to escape the brutal war that occurred in fear for their own lives. My dear, you are the only heir of Polaria’s throne and we desperately need a leader. The Rimelanders’s armies are getting stronger day by day; we cannot go on without rulers. It’s only a matter of time before they attack and finally achieve their goal of domination. Please, I ask of you, believe me, and help me, help us all. Only you can.”

Amethyst noticed that there were tears in the old man’s pleading gray eyes, but still she still needed answers. “Why don’t you get my parents to rule again instead? Why me, of all people?”

He shook his head sadly. “We would, but we cannot. Your parents signed their names in blood on a document of Gubraithian fire, Amethyst. That document stated that they would not return to Polaria under any circumstances to ensure their safety, and a contract on everlasting fire cannot be changed, mind you. That is why we got you instead. For long ago, it was prophesized that you would be the chosen one. I don’t remember the exact prophecy, but I can show you.”

With that, he stood up and made his way to the bookshelf. He took out a huge dusty book with a black cover and opened it up to a specific page.

He looked up to the sky and raised his hand. He began to rub the air in circular motions with his palm side and close his eyes. Slowly, he chanted:

Polarian prophesies,

Mysteries old,

Reveal the tale of this untold.

Love and hate,

Fire and Ice,

Reveal the secret at curiosity’s price.

Suddenly his hand stopped and the in its place was a small misty hole which swirled like a whirlpool of air.

He beckoned the girl closer and she peeked inside. She gasped.

What she saw was clear, but it seemed a bit faded.

Suddenly, she felt an overwhelming sensation envelope her body and sensed herself falling down.

It felt like a dream.

The air was crisp and fresh and the meadows a light green. Since there were stars everywhere in the sky, she knew it must be night.

She saw a young man with golden hair coming toward a pretty girl with dark brown hair. Amethyst called out to them, but nothing came out of her mouth. Then, realization hit her. She was in a memory of the past. She didn’t exist at this time.

She watched as the man and woman embraced each other with lovingness.

“Solaris, love.” She heard him whisper to the girl softly as she hugged him tighter, probably afraid to let go.

The woman stroked a blond tendril of his hair and smiled tenderly. “Eso, I have missed you so much. I counted every single second since we last saw each other to keep myself from too much anxiety.

It was Eso and Solaris! Amethyst thought to herself as she watched them hold hands and walk to the bank of cheery brook.

Solaris laid her head on Eso’s shoulder. “Love, I know my kind likes you not, but I’m willing to give it up for you.”

He kissed her softly. “My parents only disapprove of you, because they’re afraid of war. Otherwise, they’d approve of marriage. If only your kind would accept our tribe as we do yours. I heard Stephan was hanged today without a trial because they thought of him as a sorcerer.”  

“Stephan? I don’t believe it! There is such injustice in the world! Imagine execution even without a trial! That is too much! Stephan was such a dear, I’ll surely miss him.”

“Shh…relax, beloved. It is unfair, but there is nothing we can do about it. Someday, I hope they would realize their faults and we would all live in harmony. Someday, Sol, someday…”

“Someday? When would that be? I’m getting tired of all this foolishness! Why can’t they realize it now? Why not?”

“Sol, calm down. Patience is a virtue; let your temper die down. Don’t worry. Our love will pull us through. You know I love you, and I know you love me, that’s all we need.”

“I suppose so. I love you with all my heart and soul, Eso. You are all I need to live.”

“And I love you Solaris, you are my other half, without you, nothing matters any more.”

Eso suddenly stood up. “Grandmother is expecting me to visit her tonight. I almost forgot. Would you like to come along? She has come to take a liking to you.”

She nodded. “Certainly. I care a lot about that dear old woman. She is very kind to me.”

The couple walked up to a small hut where a woman was standing outside, gazing at the stars.

Eso suddenly spoke up. “Grandmother, we are here.”

The old woman suddenly turned around to face them with fire dancing in the pupils of her eyes. She spoke in a hoarse voice that was like a whisper.

“A CHILD BORN TO THOSE LEFT LIVES-A CHILD WILL LEAD US TO VICTORY…HAIR AS DARK AS NIGHT…EYES AS DARK AS DUSK BUT WITH THE MAGIC OF THE STARS…SKIN AS FAIR AS LIGHT-A GREAT DARKNESS SHALL EMERGE…BUT SHALL LEAVE-THE CHILD SHALL LET A NEW ERA DAWN-A NEW LIGHT IN THE STARS…” 

The old woman fainted at the spot, but Eso was quick to catch her.

Amethyst watched as Solaris looked confused. “What happened, Eso?”

“She just had a prophecy.” Was his only reply.

Everything started spinning.

The scene vaporized in a thick silver smoke.

Amethyst opened her eyes. She was lying down on the floor of the study. She sat up and clutched her head. It hurt.

She came to her feet and sat back down on the squashy armchair. “What was that- that thing I just experienced?”

The old man replied in his mysterious way. “You saw into the past at the time when the so-called prophecy was mentioned. You are the one the old woman spoke of. Your hair is as black as the night, your indigo eyes resemble dusk, but they seem to have sparkles of stars in them too. Your fair skin, everything. You are the one to lead us out of the dark times that are coming. You will be the one to light our lives again.”

Amethyst shook her head. “I cannot be the one you are talking about, I’m just an ordinary girl. I can’t be the Princess of Polaria, I just can’t.”

“My dear, you are the princess, nothing can change that. Arrangements have already been made. We are to leave for Polaria tomorrow. We are going to go to the place where you truly belong. Look at the time! It is already late. I suggest you get some sleep. Bella is outside; she’ll escort you back to your room. Goodnight Amethyst.”

She nodded. “Goodnight, mister.”

“Presbys, call me Presbys.”

“Okay, goodnight, Presbys.”

Author’s Note: Next chapter will be coming up soon. Please review this sorry excuse for a story.

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