//------------------------------// // EP 1: Where Destiny Lies|CH 3 // Story: 8 Realms of Magic // by AzuraKeres //------------------------------// Star entered her home with utmost quiet. She honed her ears for any voice or movement resounding within the vicinity. She heard nothing. Not a favorable predicament for Star. Regardless, pushed through a long hallway leading into the stairway to the second floor. Pictures of Star and her family were framed on the clear white walls. An image of Star nestled in her mother’s alabaster coat. Another of Star and Ratty sleeping soundly in a crib together. A record of her life was displayed through these walls. And yet none of it could hint her purpose in life. When Star ascended to the second floor, she stopped and listened for any sound. She heard the sound of blowing wind and outside voices resounding inside the floor. She entered a living room within the floor and immediately noted a bright light beaming upon the furnshing. It came from the balcony widely connected through a long glass door. Where her mother, Lune Hild, chose to reside. Hild lounged next to a small table on the wooden balcony. Two cups laid atop it. Star knew her mother to drink sweet tea throughout the day. A source of motivation her mother would call it. Star found her mother to look sagely over the railing of the balcony. Star couldn’t fathom the point. All her mother would find were the roofs, streets, and the gaudy castle of their ruler within the distance. And yet, Star found herself spellbound. The light of Sollothus radiated on their balcony, bringing a shimmer on her mother’s white coat. And with her umber mane dancing with the wind, Hild looked as majestic as a night sky. But Star didn't come here for sightseeing. She moved cautiously through the living room, using their furnishings to hide behind. Star needed to reach her mother’s room undetected. Only then could she safely drop off a replacement bag of nuts in Hild’s room. After that, she could retire to her room with a clear mind. “Good, you’re back.” Lune Star froze. “Come over here.” Star’s body tingled with a flurry of jolts. She was careful to still the sound of her steps, yet it failed to escape Hild’s ears. Maybe her mother thought she heard her? If she were to play it off, she could get out scot-free. Star took another careful step and jumped when her mother stomped loudly. “Don’t make me repeat myself, Star.” The sharpness flummoxed Star. She was so careful not to make a sound. Were valkyries built to have ears like bats? Regardless, it was obvious her escape was futile. Star relented to her mother’s demand and trudged by her side on the balcony. Her mother radiated an aura of authority that scared Star from making any unnecessary movement. Star timorously looked up upon her mother’s calm and stoic face. It sent chills into Star’s spine. As one would expect from a valkyrie. “I expect you to follow orders the first time I give them,” Hild said. The subtle fury in her voice made Star want to shrink. “Y-yes, ma’am,” Star stuttered. “What have you done today?” Hild asked. “Oh uh, just been hanging around with Chip and the others,” Star said. “We had a dumb drinking contest at the cafe. N-not to worry, we didn’t have any alcohol.” Hild gave no response. Her eyes lay blank before the city of Illuma, which only worked to unnerve Star. It was never a good thing when she was quiet mid-conversation. “And what else?” Hild finally spoke. “Else?” Star said. “Well, I went to the plaza to find something to buy. It’d be a lot nicer to browse through if everyone weren’t wearing shiny trinkets.”​ Star could foresee her mother wondering if she embezzled from folks. But with a light purse, Star believed she was in the clear. She proudly spent her spoils on the dozen drinks at the cafe. Hild narrowed her eyes on Star and then sighed. “And yet again you have the gall to be dishonest with me.” “Huh? What do you mean? I haven’t lied since you called me here. A little unfair to presume me to be a liar, don’t you think?” Star’s retort was rewarded with a heartful chop across the head from her mother. “Ow!” Star cried, consoling her now bruised head. “Why’d you do that?” Hild glared her amber eyes upon her daughter. The ferocity of their glimmer was all it took to shake Star to the core. “Don’t think you can fool me. How many bits did you steal?” “But all I said I was brow–” Star flinched when her mother’s eye twitched. “If I have to go to your brother to get the truth, I will,” Hild said. “But you won’t like what happens next.” Star didn’t like what was happening now. However, Star knew Ratty to be weak-willed. Especially with bribery of food. There was no escape. “Enough to fill half my purse,” Star confessed in a low voice. And as she expected, she received another of her mother’s loving chops. Star consoled her head again and cried, “But I told the truth as you wanted.” “I’ve told you countless times to stop with your thievery,” Hild said angrily. “You know full well that it is a crime worth imprisonment.” As Star flinched at her mother’s voice, Hild stopped her sight upon Star’s purse. Something about it gave Hild pause. “Wait a minute,” Hild said. “You said enough to fill half your purse, but it looks light. You spent those stolen bits, didn’t you?” “I… yes, ma’am.” Star immediately covered her head to protect the incoming chop. But it never came. Instead, Hild opened Star’s purse and took out the obsidian cube. “Hey, wait!” “Is this what you wasted those innocent folk’s bits on?” Hild asked. “For another piece of old garbage? And possibly from that swindler Gilfred now doubt.” “Gilfred is no swindler!” Star raised her voice and immediately cowered again when her mother sharpened her gaze. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Star hurriedly apologized.​ “Star, when are you going to learn that you can’t continue this behavior? You know what it means to be a Sollothean, so get rid of those quirks.” “What I know is that Sollotheans are a bunch of stiffs and too classy to the point of being gaudy,” Star argued. “I’m nothing like that.” “What was that?” Hild inched her hoof near Star, prompting her daughter to jump near the railing. “Okay, not everybody,” Star said. “I know that only goes for like a few… or most.” Hild made her daughter flinch again when she slammed the obsidian cube on the table. A sharp pound resounded off the table as the two cups whirled about. Miraculously, the cups did not fall. “Hey, go easy on that,” Star said. Her hoof instinctively reached for the cube, but another glare from her mother discouraged it nearing. “I swear as your mother, I’m going to correct that impish soul of yours,” Hild promised. “You won’t have to bother if you end up splitting my head open,” Star countered. “Sheesh, is this how you treat all of your recruits?” “It’s called tough love,” her mother refuted. “And until you get your act together, there will be more to come.” “Oh goody,” Star sarcastically said. “I’m so blessed to have such a loving mother who has no qualms with beating her daughter.” Hild marked her daughter with another chop. Star scurried about the railing, cradling her poor head. “Make all the excuses you want,” Hild said. “But I won’t let you squander your potential.” “Potential for what?” Star challenged, a rage now seething within her. “What potential could I possibly have if I don’t know what in the cosmos I am supposed to be doing with my life!?” The ferocity on Hild’s face softened. “Star,” she said, her voice smooth. “I know this has troubled you for a long time. But you must understand not all answers come immediately. There’s always a journey to be had, and yours is not yet finished. As you continue to live and grow, I am certain all you hope to find will come. But you’ll never get close with petty thievery.” “And how do you know that for certain?” Star asked. “Who’s to say that my brand even means something that you approve of.” Hild blinked incredulously at her daughter’s response. Star was stunned how her mother froze. Hild gaped upon her as if Star had said something terribly wrong. Something that Hild never wanted to hear. “But I think there’s a way to find an answer,” Star said, now nervously fumbling with her hooves. “Yuki told me about a rumor going around the city. Apparently, there’s a spirit lurking through the Cosmic roots, giving folks an insight of their future.” “You’re not going,” Hild said. “And you should know not to believe baseless rumors.” “But mom, this could be my chance! I have to know if it’s true or not.” “You are going nowhere near any Cosmic root!” Hild declared. “I don’t care what any random creature has said. It’s for your own good.” “But nobody has answers for me. How do you expect me to find one when I don’t know where to start? I’ve been running aimlessly for years looking for one!”​​ “That’s enough!” Hild stomped. “I don’t want to hear another word about the Cosmic roots. You’re not going near any unless I say so. Do I make myself clear?” “… yes, ma’am.” “Good, because you’re also grounded.” “What!? Why?” Hild nodded at the cube. “I don’t approve of you stealing others bits to buy frivolous toys for yourself. Now, I’m going to give it back to Gilfred and donate the bits you wasted to a good cause. And while I’m doing that, I want you to write ten-page essays of apology for the next seven days.” “Ten pages!? Come on, mom! I did use some of them for good things as well. Like...um, I bought a teddy bear for a little foal. Oh, and I even treated my friends to some drinks.” “With bits that weren’t even your own!” “Okay, fine! But you don’t have to get rid of the cube. I wasn’t even the one who...” “What? Are you finally done with your excuses?” Star frowned. “...but, mom. I only took from a bunch of rich stooges. They’d probably think they had already spent the bits.” “That’s enough out of you! Go to your rebook now and start the first essay!” Star hung her head. She knew there was no escape. There never was. Star trudged her way out of the balcony with a small sulk. “Pick it up!” Hild shouted, prompting her to dash down the stairs into her room. When Star left, Hild let out a sigh. She grabbed the cube from the table and observed its blotched marking of runes. She frowned. “Where did I go wrong with her? Or is it just in her nature?” Bright Balcony By Doodle-Mark