Hello there!
This is my entry for Caesar's Palace Monthly Oneshot Contest, which had a very, very interesting prompt.
I must admit, this was a tough one to write, because it's mostly my headcanons about Adina Astra's backstory.

Hopefully, this will be an enjoyable read!

Prompt: "A Question" by Robert Frost

A voice said, "Look me in the stars

And tell me truly, men of earth,

If all the soul-and-body scars

Were not too much to pay for birth."

A SCARRED STAR

"Look me in the stars…" a baritone voice echoed down the large hallway of the old castle, its' walls decorated with the kingdom's banner — a crescent moon above two crossed swords — and the windows beautifully illuminated by the sun's light, giving out a strange, ethereal effect as the mosaic's vivid colors were reflected on the damp hallway. The possessor of this voice, a strange alligator wearing grey robes and a black karakul was rushing towards the throne room, eager to announce that he was going to chart all the constellations, in the honor of the king.

His name was Agam Palatinus, and he was one of the astronomers that helped out at the recently founded School of Astronomy, who had the king's name — School of Borislav — which Agam thought it was sounding ridiculous. But he had no time to dawdle upon that thought, because his mission was far more important than the king's outright stupid decisions.

Two guards were standing in front of the throne room, one busy examining his halberd, the other standing helmetless as he looked at the astronomer in front of him with curiosity. Agam cleared his throat and asked to be received by the king, as his mission was of the utmost importance to the entire kingdom, but the goat guard that fixed the alligator with his gaze towered over him.

"Did you ask for an audience, in the first place?" the goat's tired, yet authoritarian voice could be heard in the hallway.

"Surely you know who I am, young one," Agam said as he held his books and parchments closer. "Please, I really need to —"

"I didn't see you around here before," the goat guard said, visibly squinting his eyes. "So, before I throw you to the dungeons —"

Loud clattering of armor could be heard, and three guards — with a badger guard in the front — were visibly distressed by something, and the badger seemed like a superior of the two, for Agam noticed that they were not following him that closely, as common guards used to do while marching together. "He surely must be a superior knight, by the looks of it. Perhaps he's the captain of the guards."

"Hold it right there, Marksham." the badger's gruff voice ordered, as he approached the astronomer. "The alligator you're so idly threatening is none other than Agam Palatinus, the great astronomer of His Majesty's school! If he's here to see the king, it must be very important."

"Hmph." Marksham huffed in annoyance. "Very well, sir. I'll grant him passage to the throne room."

The badger then turned towards Agam, taking down his helmet and slightly bowing before the astronomer, "My apologies, master Palatinus. I am Lieutenant Amulius, at your service. Allow me to enter the throne room besides you." The astronomer simply nodded and gestured with one of his claws to lead the way, as the double cedar-built doors opened — and Agam noticed the somewhat strange decor on the doors, like a forest and an owl-like creature engraved side by side — before him, the throne room was grandiose, with marble on the floor, marble columns that supported the vividly painted ceiling, mostly with folklore creatures and less with any kind of religious figures.

In the center of the throne room, stood the king, a brown bear with elegant purple clothes that were covered by a large, red cape made out of ermine, and on top of his head laid a large crown with many, many precious gems — from rubies to emeralds — but what caught the astronomer's attention was the rather aloof expression on the monarch's face, his muzzle contorted in a deep frown, a frown that didn't disappear even when Amulius announced Agam for his audience.

The king eventually turned to face the alligator, who was both humble and excited at the prospect of studying stars for many, many nights now, and gestured with one of his paws towards the servants that were humbly standing around the throne and in the room to leave. It seemed like the king was definitely willing to share something with the astronomer before him — something Agam certainly didn't expect to ever hear from Borislav himself.

"Agam," the king's voice said, a little wavering between a stern and a gentle tone, "do you ever worry about your children? Well — soon to be born — children?"

"Why do you ask me this, Your Majesty?" Agam said, as he took great care to place his books and parchments on the nearby oak table that had two extinguished candles, along with a feather quill and some good quality ink placed in a small bottle. "Is Your Majesty concerned about the Queen?"

The bear's gaze shifted for a moment towards one of the banners, seemingly lost in thoughts as the silence that began to settle in was enough of an answer for the astronomer, who was now adjusting his karakul. Agam let out a sigh and shook his head, as he could resonate with the king's thoughts and voiced them out loud, "I'll take that as a yes, Your Highness. I must confess, I am also concerned about my wife."

King Borislav let a smile slip on his face for a moment, before turning to the alligator and then he gently patted Agam Palatinus on his left shoulder. The thought of knowing someone else was also sharing this burden did ease the king's soul, and he was more open to speak about his worries — he didn't trust any of his councilors lately — something that came out as a surprise to the astronomer. "That's good to know…" King Borislav smiled, "You're still the alligator I met for the first time. Remember the time at the Ole' Springs?"

"Of course, Your Highness." Agam hastily nodded. "Do you have any idea if there's any chance for the Queen to be alright?"

"I do not know, Agam." the bear quietly admitted. "The reports are quite disheartening in that matter…"

"L-Let us divert our attention towards the stars, Your Highness." the alligator said as he dashed towards his books and parchments. "I've always wanted to fully chart the constellations, so the school would benefit from my study."

"Aren't the students already —" the bear was about to say, when Agam lifted one of his claws and shook his head in disappointment.

"While they are trained to see the stars, they cannot find patterns that mean something. They cannot offer them a meaning, a story."

"Oh, Agam, ever the poet, aren't you?" King Borislav laughed. "Very well, you are given my blessing, with one condition."

"Which is…?" Agam said, as he looked towards the bear, who was now smiling as he held his paws closely.

"Do not exert yourself too much, and do tend to your wife, and future children."

Agam simply nodded and wandered off the castle, pleased that his study was granted the king's blessing and hopes for success. It seemed like even nature itself was joyous with Agam's success, as the alligator could hear sparrows, blackbirds, mockingbirds and many, many other birds lively chirping in the trees, as well as a few squirrels that were busy eating their nuts away, but the astronomer was more concerned about the state of his wife — recently, for the last few days, she was unable to do anymore chores — putting Agam in the situation of having to hire a slave around the house, something most people in the town of Kohwood would despise.

The town was relatively small, like any other old town — it had a few inns, a few shops, two important schools, out of which the astronomy one was privileged — the other school, the school of arts and crafts that was under the tutelage of Queen Arisha, wasn't benefitting from lots of privileges, but it was enough for anyone who would've wanted to be a mastered craftsman or woman. Indeed, Kohwood was the first town to ever grant female citizens a chance to fend for themselves, something that even Agam's wife was proud of, and she wished that her child, or children, would be able to look out for themselves in the best way possible.

It was a wish Agam also shared, but with less enthusiasm as his wife Sybilla — and it was a memory that came to the astronomer's mind as he was walking down the narrow streets — streets that would often be places for the small marketplaces full of caravan traders and local traders, or for the armories, from which sounds of powerful hammers upon steel could be heard, and even the small houses in front of which children would stay and play, while their fathers would play cards with gold betting. The alligator pulled the robes over himself a little tighter and sighed at the view before him, knowing that one day he would see his own child or children playing in front of their modest little house, alongside Sybilla.

…

It was a sad day for Agam.

In place of the joy that the small baby alligator in his claws was supposed to bring, it was now nothing but a new responsibility for the astronomer. Throughout his wife's tiring labor — he could hear her screams — and the movements of the local nurse, Agam hoped that Sybilla would be strong enough to pull through. While he wasn't allowed in the room with the medicine man, he could feel her pain somehow, and held his head in despair as the screams were growing in intensity.

Then, they stopped.

And then, the baby's first cries could be heard.

The medicine man came out, holding the small baby alligator, proudly saying "she's a small, beautiful girl!" and handing her in the astronomer's arms. The fox before him was quite tired and seemingly distressed about something, something that he dreaded telling — telling the bad news.

"How's Sybilla?" Agam asked, worriedly looking at the closed door behind him. "Is she alright?"

"Master Agam," the fox began to say as he sighed, "I'm sorry to say, but she didn't survive."

Agam's eyes widened behind the glasses, and he couldn't do anything but let a few tears well up. He didn't want to show weakness, no, he had to look strong and ready to face the bitter truth. "What happened?"

"She was very, very weakened. While we were helping the little one come out, one of the blades we cut your wife with was very old — and the infection spread quite rapidly."

The alligator's teeth were now clenched in anger, wondering how could the medicine man commit such a grave error, but then the fox brought up his defense, saying that there was no other blade he could use, and the ones he ordered weren't done yet. He held the small child in his claws a lot more protectively, and asked the medicine man to leave his home — the fox said, however, that he was ready to help Agam with everything he needed.

After a few days — and sleepless nights — Agam Palatinus was now a bitter alligator that refused to answer any questions about his sanity or himself, that kept going on with his lessons in spite of his moments of falling into madness, as an odd song echoed through his mind, „Look me in the stars, /And tell me truly, men of earth, / If all the soul-and-body scars/ Were not too much to pay for birth." a song which reminded him of his worries and scars over the time. It seemed even the king noticed the state of his fabled astronomer, for he sent out the treasurer to establish an annual sum of gold in order to help Agam build a better life for himself and the small child he was looking after — but Agam was on border between refusing and accepting the offer, just because he knew all the favors he may have gained would do nothing to replace the hollow feeling in his soul.

Until the king himself came at his door.

"Agam, old friend," King Borislav said as he lightly greeted the alligator and asked his guards to stay put outside. "How are you faring on this day?"

The alligator didn't respond, because his eyes were affixed on the small child, who was now sleeping in the makeshift bed he handcrafted after Sybilla's death. It seemed like the astronomer didn't want to lose this child too — she was a part of him, a part of her, especially a part of her — and shook his head in disbelief, slightly grunting as he looked for a chair to sit on.

"I'm sorry, King —"

"For this time only, call me Boris." the bear shook his head as he recognized what a tomfoolery would it be if he allowed titles to get in the way. "Did you name the child yet?" he asked as he cast a quick glance at the sleeping small alligator.

"No." Agam admitted dryly, "I can't find a suitable name for her."

"Oh, a girl. I have mistakenly thought she was a boy." Borislav said, a little embarrassed, "No matter, you know you have to name her in the next few days."

"Boris, I don't know if I should accept —" the alligator sighed as he fiddled with his claws, "— I don't want people of Kohwood think I'm the king's favorite and such. I worked hard to become the astronomer I am today, and I won't allow anyone to walk over myself."

"I can't say I understand what you feel, Agam," the king said, "but do the child a favor and accept my offer. I'm sure your wife wouldn't want to see you poor and sad."

"Very well, Boris, I will think this over night." Agam formed a small smile on his snout, "After all, I have only charted a few constellations."

"Oh? I would love to assist to one of your lessons, Agam. I want to learn something more about these constellations of yours." Borislav said, with a smile on his snout as well.

"Of course, Your Majesty."

…

"Your name, little one, will be Adina."

The memory of the king gently lifting the small baby in front of the people, while Agam was standing in the background, was a happy day that washed over the pain the alligator endured for many, many days in a row — days that he was close to spending in a tavern, willing to drink away until the pain faded — but then he realized that he had to stay strong for the child he had to raise.

The child he hoped to see growing into a famous astronomer as he was.

As years passed, Adina was showing her smarts during the time she was schooled at home — and even when she was accepted in her first school — but she was often fighting with her father, because Agam was quite strict on what could and couldn't be done, and because he was studying so late at night he forgot to tell her bedtime stories. However, all of her teachers were proud of her, and Agam did check on her progress every now and then, but Adina was still unhappy.

"You never help me when I need you!" she furiously retorted to Agam once, when she refused to finish one of her school assignments. "You are never here for me!"

"Adina, that's not —" he tried to say, but noticing her stubborn gaze and determined posture, he gave up and retreated on the balcony from where he enjoyed stargazing. Agam sighed, that wasn't what he wanted from a family! He didn't want to be alone, all alone raising a child…

"Sybilla…you'd know better than me what to do…" he allowed a thought to pass through his tired mind as he looked through the telescope, wondering what constellation he would discover next.

He didn't know that, next to him, stood the rebellious Adina, who calmed down after a while and understood that all her father wanted was to give her enough independence to count on herself, that he wasn't going to abandon her at all despite their fights. Adina would often notice that, everytime some other kid would pick on her, her father would notice and descend in the street just to scare off the mean children — but she would also notice that Agam always advised her to avoid fights if she could, but if she couldn't, she shouldn't allow anyone to walk over herself.

Adina was going to discover there was more to the world than just the stars — she was going to discover the meaning of love, in the most innocent form — as she found a small bear from her class quite interesting and fun to play with, whenever they were outside in the streets, and even at school. He was smart enough and enjoyed reading books, just like Adina, but those were the only things that they had in common. She didn't remember his name well, it was perhaps Albert or Adalbert, and she liked to tell her father all the stories from school — Agam found himself smiling at this, he was also feeling quite strange when it was about his first friend, — but then something bad happened a few days after Adina discovered she liked Albert very much.

She found out, from the town crier, that the bear moved from town alongside his family, because the king ordered that his family is exiled — apparently the father was a spy for another kingdom, and exile was King Borislav's way of showing mercy — even though he would've outright executed the father for his vile actions against the kingdom. It was something that surprised everyone from Kohwood, especially as the kingdom of Talmurid wasn't this tolerant with traitors, or criminals, for that matter either, but Adalbert's departure changed something within Adina.

She decided that she would study astronomy alongside her father.

…

It was one of the most beautiful, starry nights that Kohwood ever witnessed in hundreds of years, something that Agam was thankful for as he shuffled through his small book of notes and readied his quill, but just when he was getting ready to gaze through the telescope, Adina startled him by joining on the balcony.

"Wow, Dad, it's so beautiful…" the young alligator said, as she began wearing dark green robes. "Can I stay with you?"

"Of course, Adina," Agam said as he showed her an empty spot next to him. "Tonight, I hope we'll discover enough constellations for the next lesson I have in mind."

"Can I try finding one or two?" she asked, curiosity stemming from her voice.

"Well, you might try at first finding the ones I've noted here," the large, old alligator said as he handed over his book of notes on the constellations. "Some of them have a story behind."

"Really? You named this one —" she paused as she found a strange alligator-like constellation, "—Adina."

Agam looked at her a little shocked, but then he burst into laughing, "Oh, dear Adina. I meant to show you that constellation on your birthday. Alas, poor Agam! I have failed in surprising you this time."

"Anyway," Adina sighed, "What about this one?" she asked as she pointed towards a strange cat-like constellation, that held an apple.

"Ah, that one. That is the constellation of Castrio, the apple thief, who was found taking king Deluvius's apples one day. The king ordered him executed, as well as the rest of his family, but before the thief died, he uttered that more thieves will rise, and that each thief will steal from kings until the last days of monarchy's existence." Agam narrated as he pushed his glasses.

"Nothing too strange about him," Adina noted. "What about this one?"

"That one?" Agam asked, as he pointed towards a fox king-alike constellation. "That is the very, very distant ancestor of King Borislav. His name was King Alpurnius."

"And?" the young alligator looked at her father in curiosity.

"Well, according to all of King Borislav's archives, it seems that Alpurnius was dethroned in the middle of a bloody war with a neighboring country, and he ran for his life like a coward until an enemy commander captured him and decapitated him. It is said that Alpurnius's headless body raised and started walking around, as if possessed, scaring the enemies half to death."

"Wow, that was creepy. What about this one's story?" Adina asked, as she pointed out towards a constellation that showed an alligator and a fox, holding hands together.

"Ah, that's…rather curious, you see." Agam said, as he dusted his robes. "That is the constellation of Aradalla and Aemilia, two beautiful girls that fell in love."

"That's strange," she uttered for a moment, before asking her father to continue — but she didn't know that, years later, the story of Aradalla and Aemilia was going to haunt her thoughts every day, as she tried to understand the mysteries of love that mixed itself with tragedy…

"Aradalla was a common girl that used to work at her family's farm, while Aemilia was a beautiful princess that wandered through town and loved spending time in the gardens. One day, Aradalla's family visited the castle on a special day, and saw Aemilia — at first, she admired the princess for her beauty, but when the castle visits were starting to get more and more often, Aradalla started to look at the princess in a different way, — a way she didn't know it was wrong.

She was falling in love with the princess.

But little did she know, it was the same for Aemilia. Noticing the common girl that wandered through the gardens, she thought at first of how beautiful must it be to live a simple life, and then she noticed that Aradalla was a lot more beautiful than she was.

If the king knew, if Aradalla's father knew... tragedy would befall them.

At first, the king thought Aemilia was a little pretentious — because she kept refusing all the potential suitors that came to her — until one night, when Aemilia couldn't resist anymore.

Both were found kissing passionately in Aradalla's family barn.

And the next moment, they were taken and put in prison separately, just so they wouldn't act on their dirty thoughts.

Aradalla was brutally executed: At first she was forcefully abused by the executioner in front of the people — and the princess was forced to look at it — then Aradalla was decapitated.

As for Aemilia, she was forced to marry the next suitor, who was an ugly prince and was easily manipulated into abusing Aemilia, the latter giving birth to a son. Not able to tolerate the shame, she threw herself in the nearby river."

…

It was Adina's turn to be sad, as she was now all alone.
Everyone around her was busy to mock her for becoming an astronomer — something unacceptable for a girl — and to say that she wasn't good enough to raise to her father's legacy, a legacy King Borislav honored by building a statue in the courtyard of the astronomy school. That alone helped the now adult Adina to cope with everything, even if she was the target of constant harassment — she was ready to beat everyone who dared insult her — until someone new changed her life completely.

It was Dalia, a beautiful orange fox that helped her one day with her papers — and it seemed like the fox was not tolerating anyone's insults and hisses — she also tried to lift Adina's spirits every once in a while, as both enjoyed stargazing very much. The female alligator held tight onto her robes as she discovered new patterns each night, alongside Dalia, but later on, these nights turned into something different than just stargazing missions.

They turned into romantic nights, night after night, kiss after kiss, name after name, until one night, when Dalia decided to leave hastily in a journey, alongside many others, decided to follow an old, forgotten legend about a star that was never charted. Legend described it as "the Ghost Star". Adina, at first, felt a little hurt about the fact that Dalia didn't even bother to let her know she was leaving, but when two years passed and she didn't return, the alligator felt something must've gone wrong.

I won't abandon her. I need to find her, and find that star.

Adina, who changed her last name to Astra, embarked on a perilous journey that carried her across unknown realms, some of them hot as the sun itself, some cold as the harsh winters she'd seen come and go, until she reached the mysterious woods of old.

The realm of the Forest God, as it was called by legends.

She didn't know if she was dreaming or if it was all real — she knew that she had to find that star, and find Dalia. Through the cold, the schemes of old, Adina Astra tried to prevail and find her way, but…

…It was all going to end with a star.

A star that would never be charted, a constellation that would be forever lost.

A star…

That would be forever scarred.