Rough chapter snippet:
Time to ruin @yurikalonesome ‘s day.
Peep’s crashouts give me strength.
Cautiously she’d taken a step back, and then another. Her gaze never leaving his as he’d stood there motionless to the ever growing distance she’d created between them.
Maybe…maybe she could run away? No this place was probably crawling with crimson stars, ones she doubted would be as gentle or passive.
So what could she do?
The question remained unanswered as the star before her moved.
She couldn’t describe the sound that escaped her as his hand moved, far faster than her mind could, grabbing her and pulling her towards him, eliminating the carefully created distance she’d put between them.
How had he-
The scream died in her throat as she felt his hands wrap around her, holding her firmly. all but hurried backwards from him.
She hadn’t realized that she hadn’t been breathing until she’d felt him lean down, his mask close to her ear as she felt his grip resting on her backside tighten.
“Don’t.”
It was the only word he’d said as she took in one breath then another.
She didn’t know how long she’d been standing there, shakily breathing until she realized that her father was right.
Stars didn’t breathe.
But that hadn’t been the worst discovery she’d made as her eyes landed on the asterius’s bark. The shadows or what had appeared to once be shadows had materialized into claws, carefully scraping alongside the asterius’s bark, leaving thin trails in its wake. Red liquid swelled and flowed from the bark’s scratches as a face materialized in the shade of the Asterius.
A strange sound filled the air as she couldn’t stop herself from shaking.
“Asha,” the star spoke again. She braved a look, upwards, noting that he was watching something, or…someone. “Asha.”
“Close your eyes. Think of somewhere else and it’ll all be over.”
Easier said than done, but with the figure slinking out from the darkness, she felt more than encouraged to at least try.
She took in one breath- then another and then closed her eyes. For a moment she’d thought she’d felt a passing wind, but with all that was happening she wasn’t sure what was real or what she had been imaging.
Think of somewhere else.
Somewhere else huh. There was only one other place she wanted to be right now.
Her eyes opened as she felt his grip on her slacken before withdrawing.
“My bedroom?” She started, looking around for any familiar sign of Valentino. “Am I awake now?” She asked, catching sight of herself in her broken mirror.
“No, not quite,” she murmured, her grip tightening on her dress skirt. She was still wearing this dress, so she must’ve still been asleep.
From behind her she could spot the star’s dark figure. Oh…he was still here too? She supposed she shouldn’t have been surprised seeing as he was the reason he’d been here now.
He shifted, cutting her voice off as his body seemed to shudder.
“Are you…are you okay?” She asked, as he leaned his body against the door, and slowly pried the lower half of his mask from his face.
“I’m fine,” he replied. His posture said otherwise as he drew in a deep breath.
Why he was lying was beyond her- after all it wasn’t as if she, the most powerless human could do anything against a star of all beings. But she supposed she should still be grateful- he had after all, somehow someway saved her.
“Is that blood?” She squinted at the red liquid trailing from his mouth down his chin.
He paused, almost as if mulling over the question before he straightened himself. “It’s not my blood,” he smoothly corrected as she felt her concern partially melt into annoyance.
“Why am I not surprised?” She replied, turning to face her bed. Nothing in this dream made sense anyway.
Not the sprite, not the star and especially not the things she’d seen or heard. A part of her had wished that this was all a dream, some feverish concoction of her mind, but another part, had a sinking feeling that maybe there was some reality to all this.
“The one court,” the star’s voice came from beside her, interrupting her thoughts.
“What?” She snapped, partially turning as she felt her back almost collide with him. She hadn’t hit him that hard but he’d felt as concrete as the stone door she’d nearly run into earlier.
“Of course you’d come across and draw the attention of the one court capable of killing someone in their dreams…”
“The one what?” She repeated, immediately backing away a few steps.
But unlike before he seemed intent on closing the distance. Silently moving as she watched his fingers grew into claws and his feathers appeared before quickly reversing as he shuddered once more and straightened himself.
“What? What are you doing?!” She snapped feeling the back of her legs hit her bed, effectively cornering her.
The Prince didn’t reply merely standing over her as she looked past him and to the door.
She wondered if she could bolt past him, but the thought of facing whatever lay on the other side of that door was more than enough to keep her in her place before he continued speaking.
“You weren’t supposed to be here-,” his hand rested over his mask- shifting it enough as he began to lean forward.
“Whoa- whoa hold on!” She cried, collapsing back onto the bed as the prince’s weight settled on top of her.
This was it. She’d been foolish to forget that beyond their beauty stars were above all else dangerous and now she was going to pay the price for her folly one way or another.
“Dinner!” She cried, squeezing her eyes shut as she felt him shift above her.
He stopped “What?”
“I said if you’re going to pin me down on a bed like this the least you could do is give me dinner first!” Confusion filled her at the sound of laughter- no not just laughter…Cepheus’s laughter as he carefully peel himself off of her. “You-!” She started, sitting up. “I outta kill you for this!”
He stopped laughing as he carelessly tossed his mask from his face. The mask soundlessly swallowed by the floor as he replied “Fair enough.”
“Fair enough?! Fair enough!!” She indignantly repeated, forcing herself to her feet as she angrily stepped towards him. “Why are you dressed like the prince from Waltz of monsters? Was that the crimson court back there?! If so Why were you with them?! How were you with them?! How did I get here did you have anything to do-,”
“Whoa whoa whoa,” he held up his hands in a surrendering gesture as he took a step back. “Okay first of all, it’s great to see you too.”
“Oh no you don’t-,” she accusingly pointed towards him. “You are going to answer my questions!”
