I'll set you up Against the Stars
While not a peasant by any means, Kozmotis was also far from the usual recruit for Lunar Generals' Academy. He was the only son of six children belonging to a small town teacher. Sometimes, he thought if he hadn't lead his papa's school students on a counter-attack when the fearlings invaded their little hamlet and killed his papa, who'd gone outside to barricade the doors and windows of the school, he would have stayed, lived, and died in that little hamlet.
Sniffling from a growing bout of homesickness, Kozmotis wished the lieutenant of the little platoon dispatched to his home hadn't ever told his grandmother of his feat. Then she wouldn't have agreed when the man said he could get him into Lunar Academy and he wouldn't be here, away from his giggling sisters, stern-faced granny, gaggle of cheery townspeople and the hamlet's surrounding flower fields with its endless butterflies.
Doing a bad job of suppressing a sob from underneath his blanket, a hand came to rip the blanket away from his face. Looking at the shadowed figure's features, Kozmotis froze in his crying. "What are you cryin' for? We haven't even been here long enough for them to give us rooms," the other child told him.
Wiping away his tears, the boy squinted a bit and realized with some interest that the child talking to him was one of the few girls that were going to be in his year. "I haven't ever been gone this long from my home," he murmured. The girl stared some more in her dubious way and Kozmotis felt the need to add, "I've never been away from home."
Her eyes widened and glancing which-way and that-way, she decided to crawl under the covers with him. Wriggling her body until they're flush together, she whispered "Never ever?"
The boy shook his head. "No, my papa was the town's only school teacher, he couldn't leave! What if someone need ta know somethin'?" he explained to her.
The girl was looking at him - or at least he thinks so, it's too dark to really tell - "You're one of those specially picked kids, aren't you?" she questioned, but Kozmotis thought she was stating more than asking him from the tone of her inquiry.
"I guess," he agreed. "I mean, the lieutenant did bring me here and argue with some people about lettin' me in an' stuff."
She nodded. "Yeah, you're one of 'em alright."
Kozmotis stared at her. "If I'm one of 'em, what are you?" he inquired.
"Huh?" She muttered, "Me?"
He nodded, waiting for her answer.
She didn't say anything for a while. "...I'm the youngest daughter of three, Father wanted a son...but Mother couldn't have more after me, you see? So I'm one of those that aren't picked, but sent 'cause there was no boy," she answered.
Kozmotis frowned. "What's wrong with sendin' a girl?" he demanded.
"They're-they're weaker!" she exclaimed.
"Who says?" The boy scowled. "My granny an' sisters are some of the strongest people I've ever been 'round. Not just anyone stands up to fearlings!"
The girl stilled and turned away. "You're the one they been talkin' about, aren't you? The one who organized a bunch of kids against a horde of fearlings," she whispered.
It was cold where she used to be.
"It was only a few!" He protested. "'sides I just said we should surprise them, 'cause they'd killed Papa an' probably hadn't realized any more of us were inside the school."
The girl grabbed his arm in a sharp grip. "Not just anyone would think of that, a lot of folks would just scrunch up an' hide," she growled at him.
Kozmotis squirmed away. "What good's hiding? They're gonna get you either way."
She stayed where she was, but he knew she must be looking his way.
"So you might as well try to get them first or die tryin'!" he declared.
He heard her whimper. "No one's goin' to stand a chance against you."
Scooting closer, he placed a hand on top of hers. "What do you mean?" he asked.
"Lunar's whole point's to create the best General, but how can they create one when they already got him?" she hiccuped.
"Who's that?" Kozmotis asked, head spinning.
"You, stupid!" she snapped.
"I-" he stopped. "I don't get why you're cryin,'" he finally admitted.
"'cause then I can't prove to Father I'm as good as any boy if you're always 'round to show me up!" she snarled.
Coming so close he can stare into her glistening eyes and see even in the darkness that they're a dark blue he doesn't know the name for, he implored, "What's your name?"
She blinked. "Vulpecula Nor," she breathed.
Kozmotis nodded and rested his head on her shoulder. Playing with her chin length hair, he inquired, "If you can't be the best, why not be my partner instead?"
"What do you mean?" she replied, body tensing under him.
"If you can't show your Papa your as good as any boy, you stick with me an' I'll make him see that you're even better, 'cause the very best general in all of Lunaff wouldn't be partners with just anyone, would they?"
Vulpecula seemed to consider this. "...No, I don't think so," she conceded.
"What do you say?" he asked, grinning up at the girl.
Lifting her head, she smashed her lips into his. He yelped and pedaled back away from her. Her teeth glimmer in the darkness. "It's done, sealed with a kiss," she explained to him.
Pressing a hand to his tingling lips, Kozmotis awed at Vulpecula, she was definitely better than any boy he'd known. "Are we partners then?" he inquired.
Fingers reaching out to cling to his, she whispered, "For as long as the stars shine in our favor." Pulling back the blanket with sudden quickness, Kozmotis looked to the twinkling bodies in the black sky.
Vulpecula came and leaned against him. "See?" she uttered.
The boy nodded. "They do shine on us," he agreed.
"And they will favor us," the girl asserted strongly.
Resting his head on her shoulder, Kozmotis smiled. "Yeah, they will, 'cause 'm gonna be the best General in all of the Lunaff Empire..."
"And I'll be your partner," she said, echoing his promise.
"My only one," Kozmotis concurred. Vulpecula turned her head and smiled brilliantly at him. Butterflies in his stomach, Kozmotis grinned back just as brightly. Squeezing her hand, he made a final, wistful, promise.
"We'll protect our empire from the fearlings, until death strikes us down."
But to the children's misfortune, no falling star heard their half-wished promise, (therefore a wish unfulfilled and a promise to shatter).
Why I've written this: I've been curious as to how Kozmotis would have grown up in the Golden Age; I felt like he probably went to some sort of military school (when I was writing this, I was thinking of Battle School from Ender's Game) and so, here we are, a kid Kozmotis about eight or nine years old homesick and meeting a strange little girl (anyone have any guesses as to who she is?) in the middle of the night.
Thanks for reading everybody and I hope you'll choose to review.
EDITED: 7/30/15