One: Azure Arctic

Introduction to Ebony Taze and Azure Arctic.

We sat with our legs dangling off the edge of our world as the stars fell from the sky around us. How long would they fall? Forever, perhaps, since they missed our planet all together? Would they ever realize they had missed us?

“What are you thinking about?” the boy next to me asked.

He was beautiful and strange with light blue skin that had swirling light underneath it at times, eyes that looked like pure, blue crystals, faintly pointed ears, high cheekbones, dark blue hair, and wings that stretched out behind us. His wings were what sheltered us from the snow falling as well as the never-ending cold.

“Do you miss being a star?” I asked him.

Azure Arctic. He had once been a star; the strangest star in the sky since it had given off a blue light rather than the normal white of other stars. Once, he had been the star right above the Arctic Storm, a place where blizzards never end.

“I do,” he said quietly, running a pale blue finger over my hand.

“Would you ever go back to the sky if you could?” I asked, watching a star fall past us and disappear into the darkness below us.

“Perhaps, but I would have to know that you’re safe and happy.

Safe and happy. Those were two words blissfully meaningless in a world were darkness and evil threatened everybody. Then there was Azure. He was the light in the darkness; literally since his skin was glowing.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Azure wanted to know, studying my face.

“No reason.”

He took my hand in his to study my black nail polish and his glowing skin made my skin look even paler.

“Do you think your skin would turn a darker blue if we left and went to where the suns shine?”

“I’m not sure,” he said, looking thoughtful. “Perhaps we should leave and find out.”

I laughed at that since it was against the law for us to leave the Moon Territories and go to the Sun Territories. He smiled bitterly and stood up.

“They couldn’t stop me from flying off,” he said, a bit too defiantly for my liking.

“They have eyes and ears everywhere as well as magic, Azure. They would see, hear, or feel you before your feet even left the ground and have you in prison.”

He scowled and I laughed against because his face was too beautiful for such an ugly look. I shivered as he stretched his wings out and the cold hit me. He instantly brought his wings back around me and pulled off his cloak to wrap around my bare shoulders.

For whatever reason, a dress had been laid out on my bed this morning and it wasn’t a winter dress. For one, it was made from lave and velvet. Second, it left my shoulders as well as most of my chest uncovered.

“Let’s go back inside,” he whispered, his eyes following the falling stars and snow. “It’ll be warmer.”

That was a false hope since it was never warm anywhere. Every inch of our part of the planet was filled with the coldness of a forever winter.

“Take me flying,” I said instead.

“Not now. Your Matriarch will begin to worry.”

I bit my lip and stood up because we both knew what would happen if I got on our Matriarch’s bad side one more time.

“That’s what I thought,” Azure whispered, putting a hand on my back and walking next to me back to our home.

Crimson was waiting for us at the front door of our home with his cloak hood pulled up against the cold despite the fact that he had the thickest fur clothes in our home. His grey eyes attempted to pierce through my soul as he watched us with a disapproving look. The look instantly disappeared, however, when I smiled at him. His face then turned a deeper color than his name.

“Our Matriarch ants everybody in before night,” he said, putting his eyes on Azure rather than on me.

“It’s always night,” I pointed out, pointing to the two moons, Trïver and Aslaan, that were always visible in our sky.

“You know what she means,” Crimson said quietly. “You two better hurry inside because I think they’re serving dinner early.”

His message was clear. He wouldn’t be getting to eat because he had to guard our home from whatever threat our Matriarch and Patriarch feared all the way out here in the middle of nowhere. It was obvious, however, that he needed the food since his clothes were starting to get too loose on his skinny frame.

“I can watch the door for you,” I offered.

“There is no need. I can do it. Besides, you can’t guard in that dress. Go ahead and eat.”

I gritted my teeth at his stubbornness, but let Azure take my hand and pull me inside. A roaring fire in the middle of the large room was a pleasant sight, but also alarming because it was only lit when there was an announcement.

Four rectangular tables stood around the fire, one for each wall, with the table against the wall opposite of the door for our Matriarch and Patriarch. We walked to the kitchen where all the food was set out; an oddly large amount of food. We both grabbed plates and I made sure to get as much as I could fit on my plate, just in case. The doors were locked after we all ate and wouldn’t be opened against until breakfast, so Crimson wouldn’t be able to get his dinner. I followed Azure back into the eating room.

We sat down next to a girl name Ivory and a boy named Aqua. Ivory ate silently, which was odd for her, and continuously cast nervous glances at our Matriarch and Patriarch.

“What’s up?” I whispered to her.

“I’m worried about what it is we’re celebrating,” she whispered back, her magnificent grey-blue eyes wide.

“Have they said anything at all?” Azure asked.

“No, but our Patriarch cannot stop smiling.”

Azure’s eyes slid to where our Patriarch sat, his food untouched, and a smile on his terrifyingly handsome face. His hair was darker than the eternal night outside and his scarlet eyes caused shivers to run down my spine when they met mine for a fraction of a second.

Our Matriarch on the other hand, who was seated to his left, was the opposite of him with snow white hair and soft blue eyes. She was at least twenty years younger than him, at twenty-five, but she was just as deadly as him. While she loved us with a passion, it was that same passion that caused her punishments to be severe and perhaps even cruel. It was the slight light in her eyes that normally wasn’t there that helped settle the worry in my stomach a bit.

“Don’t worry,” Azure whispered in my ear so only I could hear. “Whatever it is, it cannot be worse than the day they told us the stars were falling.”

He was right. That night, the smile on our Patriarch’s face had been cruel and our Matriarch’s eyes had been dark. It had broken Azure’s heart when they had announced that the stars were falling from the sky and there was no way to stop most of them from completely missing our planet. I had no doubt in my mind that he would fly our and catch each and every star if he could.

I wrapped my fingers around his and looked into those deep blue eyes that anyone could get lost in. They sparkled and shone in the light in a way that wasn’t normal, which really did make them look like crystals.

“You’re beautiful,” Azure suddenly whispered.

My face instantly heated up and I looked away, pulling my hand from his. It wasn’t so much that I was embarrassed by his words as much as it was that I was nothing compared to his beauty. How could my silky black hair match his soft blue locks? How could my normal grey eyes match his crystal blue ones. For humans, I was perhaps considered beautiful, but when I compared myself to Azure it was like comparing a rock to a crystal.

“Why are you so red?” Aqua asked, his teal eyes innocently wide.

Much like Azure, Aqua was almost too perfect for this world. His fine blonde hair was always messy and made him look more like he was five rather than fifteen. His skin was perfectly smooth and he was the only one of us who the Matriarch always made sure had enough food, sleep, warmth, and clothes.

“No reason, Aq. How were the Dogs?”

Aqua was known as the Caretaker of the Dogs, which was a very special job only for the purest of hearts. Long ago, a king whose name is forgotten opened portals between our world and Hell. Because of that, Demon Dogs were released into our world. After King Harmlin defeated that king and took the throne, he rounded up all the demons and sent them back to Hell. All except one portal was closed.

Now, that portal is open only for the bravest. Whoever could prove they were strong enough were allowed to go through the portal to Hell and find whatever riches it holds. Demon Dogs guard the portal, but if there wasn’t a Caretaker of the Dogs, they would be free to roam our world and do as they please.

The Demon Dogs were left only to be guard dogs between Hell and our world. They kept the demons in and weak humans out.

However, when King Harmlin closed the portals and made the barrier that kept the Dogs locked at the last portal, the magic twisted, as it often does, so that only the purest could keep the Dogs in the barrier. So far, Aqua was the purest human alive and so the job to keep our world safe from the Demon Dogs rested on his shoulders.

“They were okay. They tried to trick me by sending some puppies to the edge of the barrier, but I simply petted their heads and sent them right back.”

I shivered at the thought of touching a Demon Dog, even if it was a puppy.

“Children,” our Patriarch finally said, standing up. “We have a very important announcement that will affect all of us.”

The room immediately went quieter than death. Aqua even stopped swinging his legs and something flashed in his eyes, but it was gone before I could identify it.

“Tomorrow, Ebony will be leaving us.”

He paused for his words to sink in and sink in they did. Everyone around me began whispering softly and my heart stopped. I struggled to keep my face calm as I stared into the flames in from of me. What did he mean?

“The king himself has asked that we send one of our best students to work for him in the castle. Whether it will be with the Royal Army or as a servant, this is a great honor we have been given. We have decided that Ebony shall be the one who will carry out this honor.”

I was sure that if I wasn’t already bone white from the cold, I went a shade paler. There were rumors, nasty rumors, about not only the king, but his court as well. There was one more thing, however, that filled me with dread.

“She shall leave first thing tomorrow morning and Azure Arctic shall accompany her to the Boarder Wall. I expect each and every one of you to have a going away gift for her before she leaves otherwise you shall be punished.”

He kept talking, but there was a ringing in my ears that kept me from hearing. Azure would only accompany me to the Boarder, which meant he would return alone. Yes, he would probably be safer here rather than there, but the thought of him being alone made me want to wrap my arms around him and never let him go. What if something happened and he got hurt and I wasn’t here for him?

I didn’t pull away when Azure reached out under the table and wrapped his fingers around mine.

Reviews

[Srchaud]

Very good engaging writing. Having one of your main MC be a falling star is wonderful. It offers so much mystic and mystery to be explored. First few paragraph and you already start asking yourself questions such is, Will we more of his kind, how did he get here? This makes you want to read more and find out.
I have no real suggestions to offer as I think this was done with great skill. I will be adding this to my libary and returning to read more.

[Ember Quinn]

Thank you for reading my story :3 I honestly struggle when it comes to continuing to work on my stories, but the fact that you want to read more motivates me ^-^