Starlight and New Beginnings

My city is on fire. Ash rains down on me from the sky. I stand in the street surrounded by chaos, smoke, and burning buildings. My father runs up behind me, picking me up in one fell swoop. It was the last time I felt his strong arms around me. I don’t remember what he looks like, my memories are gone. The fires are the earliest memory I have as a child. I can’t remember my mother, or if I had any siblings. I only recall my father hiding me in a cellar with two other children. That life and time seem so long ago. I sometimes wonder if I imagined it all.

My life is nothing like that anymore. I don’t see burning buildings outside my window, only waves and sand. The red skies I once knew are now blue from as far as the eye can see. I love my adoptive parents, Jace and Cassandra. They saved me and we became a family. They are the kind of people who go to charity events and volunteer every chance they get. I try to fit in but there is no one that looks like me. No one else possesses sharp angular facial features, high pointy cheekbones, and ears. Stark white hair and honey-colored eyes that glow a solid gold any time my emotions get the best of me. They don’t just brighten; they light up like Christmas lights.

“Regan, sweetheart it’s time to go.” My mother says as she lets herself into my room. She is clad from head to toe in gold. Her ballgown dress sweeps along my floor as she approaches me. “The car will be here any moment.”

“Do we have to go, mom?” I plead with my eyes, but she dismisses me with a single wave of her hand.

“Of course we do. This is for charity we always show up for charity.” She stands in front of my full-length mirror and fluffs her long wavy brown hair. It’s shiny and healthy-looking like the rest of her. She reminds me of a bright star decked out in gold. Even her skin is a golden color, kissed by the sun one too many times this past summer. She’s radiant, while I’m pale and unusual looking to her kind. Where her skin glows, mine is almost translucent.

“People are going to stare at me, I want to stay home. You and daddy go.” I insist, standing next to her in front of the mirror. We are not a pretty match; I stick out like a sore thumb beside her. An abomination walking amongst mankind, trying to blend in but failing to do so.

“Don’t be silly Regan, you’re beautiful.” She touches my cheek with affection, leaning in to kiss me on it. I see the lipstick stain she leaves behind on my cheek in the full-length mirror.

The sound of a car horn comes from outside. “Time to go ladies!” Dad calls out. He walks past my doorway in his golden glittery tux. His raven black hair slicked back, . He pins a marigold flower to the breast pocket of his tux.

“We’re coming! Regan, time to go now.” My mom urges with a bright toothy grin. She enjoys any opportunity she gets to dress up. New confidence radiates off her as she lifts the hem of her dress to walk out of my room. Her chin held high; the train of her dress gliding behind her.

We arrive at the music hall behind a train of other black vehicles. The driver pulls up in front of a red carpet. The nerves set in, causing my stomach to flutter with anxiety as I toy with the strap on my masquerade-style mask. It’s the only way I can disguise the abnormalities of my facial features. I use the excuse of needing my privacy and hiding my identity. My parents are in the public eye on a regular basis.

The door opens, and my mother steps out first. She places her delicate hand in my father's as he leads her down the carpet. Camera flashes go off in an instant. They walk towards the marble steps that lead up to the Venetian Regency Hall. My mother glances back at me, giving me an expectant look. I tie the mask on my face, adjusting it to sit over my cheekbones and cover the top of my nose.

My heels touch down on the carpet, the roar of photographers heightens once they catch sight of me. The mysterious masked daughter of Jace and Cassandra Hartford.

“Regan over here! Look over here!”

Flash! Flash! Flash!

“Regan why won’t you take off the mask?!”

I manage a tight smile, doing my best to keep my anxiety at bay. The emotions bubble in my gut, and I know if I unleash them it will expose everything I’ve worked so hard to keep hidden.

“Welcome to the Starlight Ball, a charity event for the reconstituting of Flora.” A balding man in a golden tux with a marigold on his breast pocket, identical to my father’s greets me. His wrinkled hand trembles as he holds out a corsage. It's constructed of marigold flowers also.

“Thank you,” I whisper taking it from his hand and placing it around my wrist. The entrance packs in with bodies clad in gold from head to toe. I search for my parents and spot them with a small group around the bar.

They engage in heavy conversation with Luc and Ari Fortune. Their partners in crime. The Fortune’s have taken many adult vacations with my parents. None that I have ever been on though. My insecurities prevent me from doing many things. My face is not something that would ever be received well. My parents tell me I’m safer with my mask on.

“Hello, mysterious lady.” A male voice greets from behind me. I spin around and spot a handsome face, accompanied by a playful smile. His eyes are a vibrant honey color, almost like mine. My breath catches when he takes my hand and kisses the top of it as if we are in some old romantic movie.

“Hi, why did you do that?” I ask, pulling my hand away from his. The inside of my wrist begins to itch. I scratch at it a few times.

“A handshake seemed too formal,” he admits, widening his smile as he circles around me. “Beautiful,” he whispers. His tux is maroon instead of gold like everyone else. He doesn’t have a marigold flower pinned to his breast pocket either. Instead, the flower that is there is a white carnation.

I can’t help the laugh that escapes me. He looks at me with surprise, taking a step back. “I’m sorry, no one has ever called me beautiful aside from my mother,” I say, scratching at my wrist again. The itching continues to spread up the length of my arm.

“Is something wrong?” He questions, raising a thick eyebrow. He watches me practically peel the skin off my wrist with my fingernails.

“No, nothing I’m fine, but something is making me itch.” I continue to scratch till I look down and notice that I’ve drawn blood.

He takes my itching wrist and rips off the corsage. When his fingers graze my wounds the scratches heel in an instant after his touch. My mouth falls open at the sight of my cleared-up wrist. The itching stops too, and I stare at him with confusion and wonder. “Who are you?”

“Call me Callen. I can’t believe I’ve found you,” he says, without releasing the hold he has on me. “It’s the marigolds, they're deadly. You’re Regan Hartford.”

Panic sets in, the urge to scream for help crosses my mind, but before I can even get a sound out his hand is over my mouth. His sweet floral scent hits me, causing my body to relax in his arms. “What are you?” I ask, wondering if he’s drugged me somehow.

“I’m the same as you. We’re from the same place. Only three of us survived.”

The memory of my father hiding me with two others flashes in my mind. The shock sends a bolt of adrenaline through my body. I push him off me with a strength I didn’t know I possessed. The soft glow in my eyes elevates to an intense level. I’m not able to hide my emotions anymore. To my surprise, he responds in the same way. We become two sets of bright shining eyes staring into each other. “Why isn’t your face like mine?” I demand.

“It's a spell. I promise we are the same though. I can show you.” He approaches me with his hands out in front of him. There is a sense of trust when our fingertips touch.

A rush of light courses through my body. It radiates in my veins. His eyes change from a soft glow to a full beam of light. I saw the destruction of my city again. Bombs, guns, death, and loss. I felt it all over like I was reliving it. I see the soldiers in gold-colored uniforms. The marigold flower etched on the sleeve of their uniform. They pile the bodies of our people and cover them with marigold flowers. Flowers we were deathly allergic to. Flowers they wear with pride knowing that they will kill us.

“Regan!”

My mother’s voice breaks my and Callen’s bond, and we step away from each other. A crowd has gathered around us, and I see the military men in gold at the back of the room. How was I so blind to it?

“What have you done to me?” I ask, untying my mask and revealing my face to the crowd. There is a unanimous gasp as I expose my face in public for the first time.

“Let’s go somewhere more private honey,” my father suggests, inching closer to me.

Callen’s eyes light up again, causing my father to freeze in his tracks. “She’s not going anywhere with you anymore.” Callen growls while keeping his protective stance.

“What have you done?!” I ask again, unable to maintain the hysteria in my voice.

“We did what was necessary. When your father found you and I had just lost a child of my own, he did what he thought would help.” My mother admits, causing a buzz to break through the crowd. “He thought having another little one in my arms would help heal the wound.”

Hot tears roll down my cheeks. Callen’s hand wraps around mine. “I can’t believe you. I can’t believe any of you!” I shout.

The military men move closer towards us. Callen steps forward, raising his hand he summons a light brighter than the sun. It illuminates the entire room.

“Hold on tight!” He yells, gripping my hand even tighter than he already was. The military men approach us, guns drawn, but they never reach us as Callen transports us to a dark forest.

“What the hell was that?!” I screech, trying to catch my breath.

“I’ve been practicing. They can’t find us here. Are you ready to go home?” He asks, swiping his blond hair out of his eyes.

“I thought home got destroyed?”

“It did, but there’s another version of home. On a different star. You belong with us, Regan. We’re Starfal’s. We’re family,” he says, motioning towards the tree line. Another set of glowing eyes looks back at us and I see a girl step out into the open. She looks to be the same age as me, with a face that is like mine.

Finally, I’m not the only one any longer.