Chapter 5
1178 Words
Chapter 5 - The Girl from the Stars
The window slid shut behind the stranger.
No sound.
No breeze.
Just silence.
Fin instinctively reached for the small dagger Professor Seraphine had insisted every first-year keep beneath their pillow.
The silver-haired woman noticed and smiled.
"You still sleep with a weapon under your pillow."
Fin frowned.
"...How do you know that?"
"I've known since you were five."
"I've never met you."
"No."
The woman's smile faltered.
"You just don't remember me."
"Who are you?"
The moonlight spilled across the room, revealing the stranger more clearly.
She couldn't have been older than twenty-two.
Long silver hair cascaded down her back, catching the moonlight like strands of silk. Her eyes were the same striking shade of blue as the silver energy Fin had unleashed. A scar ran across her left eyebrow, barely visible beneath her bangs.
She wore a dark traveling cloak over light armor etched with the same crest that had appeared behind Fin during the attack.
Fin's grip on the dagger tightened.
"You've got five seconds."
The woman raised both hands.
"I'm not here to hurt you."
"Four."
"My name is Lyra."
"Three."
"I'm your sister."
"...Two."
"I can prove it."
Fin didn't lower the dagger.
"One."
Instead of reaching for a weapon, Lyra slowly removed a silver pendant from around her neck.
It was a star.
Five points.
A tiny crack ran through its center.
Fin's breath caught.
She had seen it before.
In the photograph from Queen Elara's journal.
Around her mother's neck.
A Memory
The moment Fin touched the pendant—
The world disappeared.
She was no longer in her dorm.
She stood in a beautiful palace made of white stone and crystal.
Children's laughter echoed through the halls.
A little girl—no older than four—ran barefoot across the polished floor.
Her silver hair bounced with every step.
She chased an older girl.
"Lyra! Wait!"
The older girl laughed.
"You'll never catch me, Firefly!"
"I will!"
"Nope!"
The younger girl pouted dramatically.
"You cheated!"
"I used longer legs."
"Still cheating!"
Both girls collapsed into laughter.
Then—
A woman entered the room.
Silver hair.
Kind eyes.
Queen Elara.
"My little stars."
She knelt, opening her arms.
Both girls rushed into the embrace.
"My brave daughters."
The memory blurred.
Smoke filled the palace.
People screamed.
Someone shouted—
"They've breached the gates!"
Queen Elara knelt before the little girl.
"Fin..."
Tears streamed down her face.
"You must be brave."
"I don't want to go."
"I know."
"I want to stay with you."
Elara kissed her forehead.
"You'll come home one day."
Everything shattered into white light.
Present
Fin gasped, stumbling backward.
The pendant slipped from her fingers.
Tears blurred her vision.
"I..."
Her voice cracked.
"I remember..."
Only pieces.
Fragments.
But they were real.
Lyra wiped away a tear of her own.
"You always cried after nightmares."
Fin stared at her.
"...You're really my sister."
Lyra nodded.
"I've been searching for you for sixteen years."
The Truth
"You deserve to know what happened."
Fin sat on the edge of her bed.
"I think I've earned that."
Lyra took a slow breath.
"Our kingdom was called Astralis."
"It was the strongest kingdom in the Veiled Realm."
"Until your uncle betrayed us."
Fin thought of the journal.
"So... it was true."
"King Orion."
Lyra's expression darkened.
"He wasn't always cruel."
"He loved Mother."
"He loved us."
"What changed?"
"No one knows."
"He became obsessed with something buried beneath the kingdom."
"Something ancient."
"He believed the Starborn bloodline wasn't powerful enough."
"So he started a war."
Fin whispered,
"...Against his own family."
Lyra nodded.
"He wanted one thing."
"You."
"Why me?"
"I'm just..."
Fin looked down at her hands.
"...Me."
Lyra smiled sadly.
"No."
"You're the youngest Starborn."
"And?"
"And every thousand years..."
She hesitated.
"A child is born capable of awakening the Aether Heart."
"The source of all abilities."
Fin blinked.
"...That's impossible."
"It shouldn't exist."
"It shouldn't."
"But you do."
Training Grounds
The next morning—
Professor Seraphine wasted no time.
"If you cannot control your power..."
She drew her sword.
"...Your power will control you."
Fin stood in the center of the training field.
Priston leaned lazily against a wooden post.
"So."
"You finally decided to show up."
"I was kidnapped by my long-lost sister."
"...That's a weird sentence."
"My life is weird."
"I'll give you that."
Professor Seraphine clapped once.
"Today's lesson."
She pointed at Priston.
"You."
Priston frowned.
"...Me?"
"You're partnering with Fin."
The entire class erupted.
"What?!"
"No way!"
"They'll destroy the arena!"
Priston groaned dramatically.
"I don't babysit."
Fin glared.
"I don't need one."
"Good."
"Because I'm terrible with children."
"I'm older than you by three months."
"...Seriously?"
"Seriously."
"Huh."
"I expected better."
Fin smirked.
"You'll be disappointed a lot."
Sparring Match
"First rule," Priston said, tossing her a practice sword.
"Don't think."
"What kind of advice is that?"
"The kind that'll keep you alive."
He rushed forward without warning.
CLANG!
Fin barely blocked.
The impact rattled her arms.
"Too slow."
He swung again.
She ducked.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Every movement was effortless for him.
Every block exhausted her.
Finally—
WHACK!
He tapped her forehead with the flat of the blade.
"You died."
Fin scowled.
"You enjoyed that."
"A little."
"A little?"
"A lot."
She lunged.
He sidestepped.
She nearly fell flat on her face.
Laughter erupted from the students watching.
Priston caught her arm before she hit the ground.
"You always this clumsy?"
Fin yanked herself free.
"I was distracted."
"By gravity?"
"...I don't like you."
A grin tugged at his lips.
"Liar."
Across the Field
Zanne watched quietly from beneath a tree, notebook in hand.
He wasn't taking notes on combat.
He was watching Fin's movements.
Every stumble.
Every instinctive dodge.
Every flash of silver energy beneath her skin.
Professor Seraphine walked over.
"What do you see?"
Zanne didn't look away.
"She's remembering."
"What?"
"Not techniques."
He closed his notebook.
"Muscle memory."
"She isn't learning."
"She's remembering how she used to fight."
Seraphine's expression grew serious.
"...Then the journal is working faster than expected."
That Evening
Fin wandered into the academy library.
It was nearly empty.
Thousands of floating books drifted between endless shelves.
She found herself standing in front of a single locked cabinet.
Without thinking—
She touched the glass.
Click.
The cabinet unlocked itself.
A thick, leather-bound book floated into her hands.
Dust swirled around it.
The title shimmered in silver.
The Lost Kings of Astralis
As Fin opened it—
Every candle in the library went out.
A voice echoed through the darkness.
"You shouldn't read that."
She spun around.
Standing at the end of the aisle was a man in a professor's robe.
He smiled politely.
But something about his eyes...
Felt empty.
Cold.
Wrong.
"I've never seen you before," Fin said.
"I teach history."
He took one slow step closer.
"And some histories..."
His smile widened.
"...Are better left forgotten."
From the shadows behind him, black mist curled across the floor.
Hidden beneath his sleeve, a crimson Raven insignia glowed faintly.
- Writer
