Constella: A Star is Born

“Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say.” Spoken from a woman of true beauty and fair skin. Her hair glistened in a silver, metallic grey. She and a man with dark, ebony beauty and tall stature stood in a room made of rock, with only one exit and entrance. Although pitch black surrounded them, there was but one light that shone brightly. A fountain lay in the middle of the room. And in it, water infused with the glow, the core, and the light of a star. So brightly it shined, that it reflected amongst the room. Tranquility and peace were brought to all who entered, but for this woman and this man, it was the start of a terrible fate. In frustration, the man continued.

“Should that be an excuse for the deaths of our brothers, our sisters, and everyone we care about?! That the [Star race] people should have to scream louder before their demise?!” He raises his voice in anger. The fair lady shoots him a glare of sorrow and hurt.

“Karrlyle, not EVERY human on the planet can hear the screams of our fallen brothers and sisters! If they all knew we were here then maybe-”

“-Maybe what, Bethlehem? Maybe the humans would come to our aid, save the entire race? A race they all betrayed hundreds of years ago?! Beth, I would rather die than ask the humans for help.”

“If we do not turn to the humans, you will not be the only one to do so.” Bethlehem, although frustrated at Karrlyle’s stubbornness, tries to convince him once more. She walks towards him, places her hands on both sides of his cheeks, and gently kisses his lips. Karlyle holds no hesitation in his heart, for the woman he loves.

“Karr, if we do not seek help, we will die. Cygnus will be wiped off the face of the galaxy, and Lyra will be next. After them, he will stop at nothing to kill the rest of the Constellations.” Karrlyle steps close to her. He puts both of his hands on the sides of Bethlehem's arms, gripping them tightly.

“Bethlehem, the humans never helped our race then and they will not do so now. They are nothing but ants underneath our feet. Not even they are deserving of your love, your devotion, and….your desperation.” He whispers in Bethlehem’s ear, and she pulls away from him.

“Karrlyle, I am desperate to save our kind and that of the humans. They will be in danger if we don’t do something!” Karrlyle turns his back to face her.

“Then why do anything?” Bethlehem looks at Karrlyle with an icy stare of betrayal and confusion.

She says abruptly, “What? You do not mean that Karr.”

“If we help him achieve his goal-”

“Karrlyle?”

“-Then he will spare our kind-”

“Karrlyle!” Bethlehem gets louder. A moment of threatening silence brings Karrlyle to turn towards Bethlehem. A heart-turned-cold stares back at her, and for a split second, she questions the stranger standing in front of her.

Upon the silence, Bethlehem hears faint whispers of people in the air. She looks around in confusion and asks Karrlyle, “Do you hear that?”

“Hear what Beth?” Karrlyle replies in the annoyance of her changing the subject.

She faces the middle of the room, where the fountain stands. She begins to walk towards it as she says, “Karrlyle…..Star Norden. It speaks to me. I must approach it.”

Filled with worry, Karrlyle cautions Bethlehem to not walk towards it. “What do you hope to see in Star Norden? It is a mirror, in it a reflection of the humans down on earth. Not since that day, have you ever traveled there?”

Karrlyle yells at Bethlehem in sternness. “You have turned your back on them, the same as I have because of what they have done!”

She stops walking and turns to face him abruptly as she shouts in anger, “NO! It is for the mistake of their ancestors which they will have to pay! We cannot blame these humans for the wrongdoings of a past generation Karrlyle. To kill them, would make us no better than him. He murders his own people in hopes of murdering other people. I couldn’t hurt them. I would rather die.”

A heavy sigh leaves Karrlyle’s lips. “ ‘If we do not turn to the humans, you will not be the only one to do so.’ I offer my utmost apologies to you, Beth. You show emotion towards the humans. An emotion that is equal in the measure of your love for me. Because the lowlife of humanity touches your heart on a pedestal much higher than mine, I will help him kill seven point eight billion people just to ensure you are unharmed. Please move away from Star Norden so that I may destroy it. I love you and I do not wish to fight you.”

Bethlehem stands her ground and peers at Karrlyle’s cold, dark eyes. She shakes her head in disbelief and disappointment in the man she loves. “Destroy Star Norden? Wait, I know why you wish to do so. You think I will find them, do you not? Or rather do you think I am the chosen Star of Astraeus?” She catches his attention and he is focused on every word she has to say. “From the death of a massive star, comes the birth of many stars. Astraeus, the God of the Stars and Planets, chooses the star who shines the brightest on the fourth month, of the seventeenth day, in the West Bank of Jerusalem. That star guides three powerful Magi when the time of the star’s aid is needed most.”

Bethlehem looks straight at Karrlyle, with eyes that hunger to attack him. In an aggressive tone, she speaks to Karrlyle. “The three of them are out there, but that is not the only thing that terrifies you. I could be the chosen star, the Magi could help save both races, and your love for me is as laughable as trying to use it as an excuse to kill the humans. That is what petrifies you.”

The room goes silent. Both Karrlyle and Bethlehem stand in front of each other. Bethlehem speaks with a rising temper. “I will look into Star Norden, watch it reveal the faces of the three Magis, and I will put an end to this. I want to accomplish doing so without meaningless bloodshed. However, to defend the humans, myself, and to stop you I will do so if needed.”

In sadness, he looks at her. “Forgive me, my love, but what petrifies me is that I may have to hurt you.”

Bethlehem does not stumble in her expression of anger as she says, “You are not my love and I will never forgive you.” She raises her arm out towards Karrlyle and attacks him with an incantation full of power: “Encluv Estera!” A piercing bright light shoots from her hand, in the shape of a piercing lightning bolt, aimed at Karrlyle.

Karrlyle laughs in a sinister tone. Her attack did not injure or touch him. Karrlyle said maliciously, “Bethlehem-”

“-That was a mistake.”