-Chapter 1-
Glass. Four panes of crystal glass. One could see out, but that was it. Each one locked to another pane by thick beams of silver. They interlocked and rounded up, creating the top of the cage. A crystal cage where one and all could observe the oddity of nature; the aberration. Sudden realization dawned on her. She was a bird in a cage. She was a sight to behold. She was their anomaly. Looking at the top of her prison, she saw the sun. It continued brightly amongst the pristine blue of the sky. Only noticing now, she felt warm. Her skin red, a pale red that looked to be the start of a burn. She reveled in it though, the feeling of warmth chasing the chill from her bones. Beyond the cage, there were hills that surfaced from behind dense foliage. If she squinted, she could see past her meadow, past the patches of full blooming flowers, past the sparkling lake, there stood a large cathedral-like structure. The spindling tops and the heavy stone work. It stood like a beacon to her. Salvation. Salvation. Salvation.
"LISSA!"
Startled, she turned. Just outside of the cage stood a warrior. Her dark chestnut hair threaded back into a braid, her dark eyes shimmering with worried confusion. I know her. Almost, as if against her will, she raised a pale fist to touch the glass. As soon as her hand came to touch the glass, the warrior screamed for her to stop. Quickly. Quickly. Quickly. Before she can stop you. Run. Run. Run.
Her slim fingers touched the glass, it felt warm to the touch, and it exploded. Shards flew every which way, all of them somehow managing to embed themselves into her skin. Looking down, her pale rosy skin wept crimson. Thick, heady, trails of liquid traveled down her arms. She looked up to see the warrior again. Her dark eyes gleamed as trails of tears flowed steadily, much like the blood that flowed from the deep cuts.
Salvation. Salvation. Salvation.
Liss. Lissa. Vasilisa.
Startled, Lissa shot up out her bed. The lights in her room all blazed, temporarily blinding her. Blinking, Lissa tried to see past the dark bruises and focused on her best friend. They stared at each other, Lissa's gaze wild and uncontrolled. Her companion grinned and let out a snarky laugh.
"You were dreaming bad things again, cousin," He clucked his tongue at her, his jeweled eyes appraising her, "You do have a nasty habit of that, don't you?"
"Well, you don't even know the half of it. I saw her again. The girl. I think…." But the words died on her lips. Her arms were warm and sticky. She wouldn't glance down though. No, she knew what would happen if she did. And Adrian didn't need to see Lissa lose her 'lunch' again. No, Lissa untangled herself from her pale blue sheets and stood. Adrian, seeming to know what she was doing, only stood by to watch her close the door to the bathroom. Adrian, who knew what to do about everything else, knew nothing about how to help her.
Looking at the girl before her, Lissa noted her stringy hair, slick with sweat. There were dark smudges beneath her jade eyes. The marks stood out against her pale skin. Releasing a sigh, Lissa shook herself, instantly regretting the action though. She eyed the crimson splatters that now stained the white rug beneath her painted toes. Great.
Lissa grabbed a towel, its fluffy white texture giving Lissa little comfort now, and began to mop up the mess of her arms. The carpet could not be saved. No amount of bleach in the world would destroy the physical evidence of what had transpired. She huffed, blonde locks sticking to her forehead, and sat back. Her eyes never left the stains. They felt like the reminder of the stains on her soul. A reminder that no matter how hard she scrubbed or prayed or cried, she was ruined. Her soul was marred.
Salvation. Salvation. Salvation.
Lissa opened the door to the bathroom hours after. Her eyes scanned for Adrian, but he was gone again. Probably skulking about a grade he had no hope of resolving before midterms. She discarded the bloody towels in the waste bin before turning to her closet. The tips of her fingers brushed over the clothes that hung there before plucking a white cotton tee off of a golden hanger. She grabbed a pair of blue denims and got dressed.
Adrian reappeared when she was dressed, his hair brushed and his eyes mischievous. He stood before her in a plain black shirt with plain dark jeans, and plain green tennis shoes. He had his gold watch secured to his wrist and a bright smile on his lips.
"Come along now cousin, we haven't got all day."
Except they did. It was Sunday, a day of religious going-ons. Lissa wasn't particularly religious, and Adrian scoffed at any religious icon, so it wasn't as if they were going to church. In fact, every Sunday she had ever spent with Adrian had been a trip to the library. He wouldn't go inside though. While Lissa, ventured inside the oldest building on campus, Adrian would sit in the lap of C.S. Lewis and pat Aslan on the head. A cigarette would be dangling from between his lips and his head would be bent over his phone. Lissa liked to imagine that the statue of C.S. Lewis disapproved of her cousin's activities and that the stone lion that rested at his side was looking at Adrian as a meal.
Narrowing her eyes, she watched him. Adrian, who had been pale this morning, was now flushed. But with an internal shrug, Lissa followed him out without question. Outside, in the November air, Lissa felt her skin cool down significantly. The glory of Saint Anna's Boarding School stood out amongst the clove of trees. Lissa smiled warmly at the ancient building.
Adrian ducked past the main campus building and made a beeline for the newer buildings in the back. St. Anna's didn't have a large campus. They were only allotted so many acres for the private school, and those who were in charge had managed to make the most of their situation. The entire campus was surrounded by protective trees; Adrian would joke about how the school was protected by the guardian forest, warding away wanderers and stragglers. Lissa found the joke to be of little comfort to her now.
Pulling on the sleeves of her green coat, a last minute decision when she remembered her arms, Lissa trudged into the common rooms with Adrian. He stood out, mostly because he was the only one stupid enough to be wearing short sleeves in November. You were planning on leaving without as much as a jacket to cover your bones. Lissa shuddered. It was relatively warm inside the commons, but she couldn't shake the feeling. It crawled under her skin, slithered through her veins, rested in her bones. If she had to visualize the feeling, she would have described it as an inky black thing.
"Lissa?"
Adrian waved to her from the other side of the commons. He had rested himself against a battered armchair, eyes glancing at her before resting on the occupant of the chair. Lissa could barely make out the dark blonde hair, but upon closer inspection, she knew exactly who she was looking at.
"Hey Sydney, I didn't think you were coming back…?" She hadn't meant to leave it as a question, but it came out that way. It wasn't that Lissa didn't like Sydney. There was nothing wrong with the girl at all, but she felt nervous and anxious around her.
"Hmm?" Her eyes lifted to meet Lissa's. They were an odd combination of a golden brown; they glittered like jewels. Adrian pecked her cheek before whispering in her ear, "Oh! I didn't think I was coming back either, Lissa. My sister Carly finally came home to help with my mom. My dad said didn't mind me coming back if Carly helped out around the house. And here I am." She grinned up, her smile genuine. Lissa didn't care though. It left her feeling unsettled. She didn't like it in the least.
Hoots rose out of the background, someone had done something to cause the excitement. Lissa kept her face turned from the drama though. She didn't really want any part of it.
"… But you know, it wasn't that bad. Besides I think Kirova mentioned something about..."
"If you think so…. That actually does sound fun, maybe we should…"
"…Yes! I was hoping to go to the library to see if…"
"That's the plan. Lissa, do you mind if Sydney…"
The boys in the front were still cheering wildly. In the back of her mind, she could picture Mason Ashford hollering loudly. His blue eyes widening as he went in for a fist bump, his goofy smile directed at pretty girls, his pale complexion. Sliding her own eyes shut she felt the inky substance run rampant through her. When she thought of Mason Ashford again, all she could envision was his ghostly pale skin and the way his eyes were blank. She could see the grotesque bruise on his neck, his lips forever parted in death. But when she opened her eyes again and focused them on Mason, he was very much alive.
"Lissa, earth to Lissa! Anyone there?" Adrian was drumming his knuckles on the hard cover of Sydney's book. Stunned, Lissa's gaze fell back on the couple.
"Yes?"
"Honestly, cousin, should I assume you haven't been listening at all?"
"Um…"
"Never mind any of that, then. I'm sure Natalie will inform you on your daily quota of gossip. Sydney and I were headed off to the library to check if her order came in; did you want to join us?"
"No. No I'm good. I'll- I'll see you at dinner."
Lissa turned quickly before Adrian could protest. She already saw the concern in his eyes. They echoed the same sentiment in Sydney's. She didn't want their pity. Not now and not ever. But that didn't mean they were wrong to worry.
Salvation. Salvation. Salvation.
She found herself in the meadow again, though the glass cage was gone. Her eyes raked the scenery before her, committing every detail to mind. The warrior was nowhere to be seen. That didn't mean she was alone. The breeze picked up and fluttered through her hair, the strands flying about her face chaotically. Her hands reached up and desperately tried to pull the locks back. She could hear laughter behind her. Hear it and feel it. In this place, this meadow, Lissa could feel everything. It was as if the world had welcomed her home and she felt tied into the environment. The laughter broke off suddenly. For a moment, she felt empty. Her heart dropped when the soft notes of the laugh ended. Behind her, she watched the laugher from behind her lashes. She couldn't help it. He was stunning, the laugher. His hair seemed unaffected by the breeze; all of him really looked unaffected. He seemed totally untouched by the elements around them.
"Please come home,"
His lips stayed frozen in a playful smile, but the whispered words traveled between them, caressing her skin as if she were a treasure to be delighted in. She observed him, hoping to discover something that would unravel some secret. The boy wore a black cotton tee and a pair of dark wash jeans. His hair had been brushed, though it flared. He was barefoot in the grass.
"Please Lissa, please"
A helpless feeling bubbled up inside her. What was she supposed to do? What did this boy expect her to do? It wasn't as if she held any control here, in the meadow.
I… I don't know where that is.
The frozen smile broke from his icy face. The boy looked as if he had just been given life. Before, his icy blue eyes remained frozen, but now they were wild with thinly veiled emotion. Suddenly, he was affected. The breeze blew into him, rather than through him. His hair moved, his expression turned radiant, his lips formed the caress this time.
"Yes, you do. You have always known the way home."
He moved towards her, and with a shot of fear, Lissa stumbled back. Hurt flashed on the boy's face, but he didn't stop his advancement towards her.
"Lissa! Don't run. Let us take you home!"
She couldn't stop though. Lissa turned and lifted the ends of her white gauzy gown up past her ankles. It hung at her knees and she ran. Her feet touched the soft grass and earth below her, every time touching and rooting herself. She tore out of the clearing and into the protection of the trees. The hills that hid behind the masses grew closer. Huffing out in exhaustion, Lissa glanced behind her. It was a mistake.
The clearing was on fire. Her protected meadow burned in the flickering flames. They licked the trees and threatened to destroy that as well. Lissa pushed herself past the last of the forest, her feet rough from the thick roots that they had made contact with. She felt threatened. The boy was gone, a blaze of retaliation left in his place.
Atop the sprawling hill, Lissa watched as her meadow was destroyed. Her sparkling lake poisoned, her bright sun diminished, her green valleys stained, and safe haven no more.
A hand snatched her wrist and there she was. The warrior.
"LISSA!"
Ruin. Ruin. Ruin.
She flung herself up, panting as she took in her surroundings. Lissa had fallen asleep again. Annoyed, more at herself, Lissa threw off her green coat. She was sweating under its heavy mass, and she felt ablaze. Her skin looked raw and pink, like she had been stupid enough to sit by the fire too long. It would have made sense. More sense than her dream of the perfect boy with sharp canines and an Amazonian warrior. A tremor ran through Lissa. She shouldn't have fallen asleep. She could find no salvation in her dreams. No hope of preservation or protection in her slumbering hours. Lissa found that she wasn't safe when she was asleep. She couldn't trust herself not to concoct crazy, ludicrous dreams that would drive her mad. No, because that left her losing her mind over Sydney Sage, Adrian's girlfriend of three years.
Lissa didn't even remember her. She had never met the girl with strange watchful eyes and gold for hair. And yet, Adrian insisted that Lissa had met her before. They had met at Aunt Tati's Christmas party where Sydney and Lissa fell into harmony over books and travel. Lissa didn't believe him, not for a second. And it wasn't because of the story. Lissa remembered bonding over literature with another girl, laughing about travels that would take her far away, even if it wasn't at Aunt Tatiana's home. No, Lissa didn't believe him because she had seen Sydney Sage before. She had seen her covered in blood screaming. She remembered her eyes searching Lissa's jade ones, searching for something Lissa had no knowledge of.
It was then that Lissa wrote Sydney Sage off as something unnatural. And Adrian hated Lissa for it. Not the kind of hate that leaves you with a burning fury or the hate that made you vomit in your enemy's mailbox. It was the type of hate that one never even knew they had. Lissa saw it in his eyes, though, whenever she didn't listen to Sydney or when she couldn't be bothered to acknowledge Sydney's presence.
It didn't matter though. Sydney Sage wasn't like her. Lissa had to convince herself of this. Sydney Sage was a freak among those who were normal. Normal like Adrian and herself. It was the others that didn't belong. It was Mason Ashford and Mia Rinaldi and Sydney Sage who were the oddities. Because if she couldn't convince herself they were the monstrosities, she'd have to admit she was.
Author's Note:
You have just finished the first chapter of A Crown of Stardust. Hopefully, you enjoyed it. I will be continuing this story, mostly because it came to me while I couldn't think of anything else. Country Boy and King of Spades will also be continued, but I'm not sure when during the month they will updated. But they will be updated in the month. Crave Me is a series of one-shots, so I can't be sure when I will update it. I'm sorry if this news displeases you, but I do not fear. I will always come back to finish my stories.
Also, yes I know the summary sucks. God knows I've been trying to sum up the story, but all of the summaries I have written, have completely sucked. So, until I can sum of the story, it will remain a stupid summary.
Thank you for staying with me, even with how infrequently I update.
syxstyx