Catching Stars

Chapter 1
A Dangerous Gift

"You must never, ever tell anyone about this, do you understand?"

"Why?"

His eyes had been so innocent, so questioning and so trustworthy.

"Because there are those in this world that want to take them away."

Sienna glared up at the ship that was to be her new home for the next couple of months. The knapsack slung over her shoulder felt heavy like it was dragging her down, determined to anchor her to the spot. She wouldn't have minded if it did.

"Isn't she a beaut, Sienna?" her father chuckled, sticking out his broad chin as he rubbed his neck. "Today's a fine day for casting off, don't you agree?"

"It would be a fine day if we weren't leaving so soon," she sighed, her eyes downcast. She hated this part of every voyage. Spacing was her life, wandering from planet to planet, port to port was in her blood. Deep down Sienna knew she would never be happy stuck on the ground, but even so that didn't make it any easier to say goodbye…

"Don't make me do this."

"Do what?"

"Please don't make this harder than it has to be."

"Sienna," he cajoled, twisting some of her gentle blonde hair behind her ear.

"You know we have to, Sia," her father gave her a small smile, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. Sienna was thankful at least to have him with her. Always. Together they climbed up to the vessel that was preparing for launch. Her father headed straight for the first mate, grabbing his hand in a firm shake.

"It'll be a pleasure to have the two of you on board," the first mate was saying when Sienna finally approached. She was too busy checking out the rest of the ship to care for the formalities that accompanied every voyage. She knew her place aboard every ship, this was merely routine for both her and her father, but nonetheless it was an important one. Her father said it was always best to give the captain and first mate a good first impression. That went for anyone.

"Please, Sir, the pleasure is ours," her father chuckled.

"Well, as you know, Mr. Kestrel you'll be working under our top rigger Mr. Metcalf. Ms. Kestrel, you will be assigned to cabin girl duties for the time being. If the two of you follow me I'll introduce you to the captain and the others on board," the first mate, Mr. Olson, announced and began the dutifully task of giving them a full tour of the ship and its inhabitants. There was the robot navigator B.U.B, the riggers Metcalf, Tykot, Ettenberg, Magil, Ammons. Then there were the ropers: Bochner, Colburn, Wolcowitz, and Ure. First Mate Olson then introduced them to the specialists and by that point in the tour Sienna had lost track of all the names and persons aboard. She'd get to know them sooner or later and she had never been very good at names.

The only names that really stuck with her was the cook's and the captain's.

The captain they met briefly with in his stateroom to discuss their work and how the ship was generally run on a daily basis. His name was John Ehler, and when Sienna had first walked into his stateroom she had to stifle a giggle. He looked like a punk not at all fit for the life of a captain. His hair was a natural purple, sticking up here and there. His body was a grayish color, his eyes solid black. Other than these odd color attributes he looked relatively human. It was always nice for Sienna to find other humans. She didn't get to see many when on her voyages and it made her feel more singled out than she already was.

Captain John Ehler kept a tight ship, which Sienna guessed had mostly to do with his first mate for when they entered his stateroom to be introduced he had his feet propped up on his desk, a pipe stuck in his mouth.

"You're the new recruits?" he had barked upon their entrance. Sienna and her father shared a look. They had experienced all sorts of captains on their travels, but none of them nearly as laid back as John Ehler.

"Yes, Sir, my name is –"

"Kestrel. You're Farleigh Kestrel. The pleasure is mine." Ehler stood at last to reach across his desk and take up her father's hand in a firm shake. When he turned, his eyes locked on her own. "And you must be Lady Sienna Kestrel of nineteen years," he nodded.

"I'm not a lady," she replied. Ehler laughed as he eyed her in a way that made Sienna uncomfortable.

"Well, you look rightly like one to me, ha!" he chuckled before turning back to his first mate. "Olson, please show the Kestrels to their posts. We'll be launching shortly."

"Aye, Sir," Olson saluted and gestured for Farleigh and Sienna to leave the room. Just before Olson shut the door behind them, Sienna glanced back to see Ehler staring at her, his dark eyes searching her own.

She couldn't deny him when he kissed her like that. She had never felt so alive and so lost at the same time. Everything about him intoxicated her, made her believe he was the one, but all good things must end.

Sienna touched her lips that night as she stood up on deck, watching the stars. She had helped the cook prepare a handsome dinner for the crew and had finished all of the dreadful dishes that accumulated afterward. She hadn't really minded the work, though. It kept her hands busy, her mind on numbing activities to distract her from the pain in her chest. Her stomach felt tight now as she stood on deck and despite her attempts to keep the memories at bay they flooded her mind, making her witness everything that she would never have again.

"I'm sorry, Sienna."

Sienna jumped and turned to face her father who came to lean on the rail beside her.

"I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault," she muttered, dipping her head.

"I just want you to understand I'm doing this to protect you," he justified. "I want to keep you safe. You carry a dangerous gift."

"I know," she breathed. She would always know and a part of Sienna wondered if it would ever end, the running, the hiding, the fighting.

"He was a nice boy. He really cared about you, you know," her father whispered. Sienna nodded. "I should have told you this sooner, but he came to me the day before our departure and asked for your hand."

"What?" Sienna cried, her head snapping up as she stared at her father with wide eyes. "What did you say?"

"I told him to go home, that as much I wanted such a relationship to blossom it was not possible," Farleigh replied.

"You told him to go home?" she yelled. "What is wrong with you? I could have been engaged! I could have –"

"Gotten married?" her father interrupted. "What sort of a marriage would that have been, Sienna? You know as much as I do that even if you would be able to return to live with him, your visits would be few. Is that the life you want for your significant other? Having him wait for months, sometimes years for you to return? He deserves better. You deserve better."

"Then when will it end?" Sienna snapped, glaring at Farleigh. "When will it ever end? I might as well just die an old maid because I can never stop running!"

"Sienna, lower your voice," he hissed. "You know as much as I do that it will end when we find her."

"And how long will that take? Another year? Another millennium? We've been on the run since I was thirteen years old. We've been searching for her for six years now, and there's no trace of her anywhere. We don't even know if she's still alive –"

"Don't!" her father shouted her down, his eyes flashing. It wasn't like him to get this angry, so Sienna knew she had played the wrong card. "Don't you say that. We must never think the worst unless we wish it to be true. Do you wish for your mother to be dead, Sienna?"

Sienna felt tears prick her eyes and she wiped them away furiously.

"Why did she have to go?" she choked. "Why did she leave us like that?"

"I don't know, but we'll find her, Sienna. We will. Go take your bath now. I'll make sure nobody interrupts you," he answered. This was how it had always been on board. Sienna only washed and dressed herself when she was sure nobody would interrupt her – that no one would see her back exposed, see the scars on her shoulder blades and question what they were. As she locked herself in the bathroom that evening she took care in undressing herself. She wasn't ugly, but she didn't consider herself beautiful. The only part of her she truly admired was her long blonde hair stretching past her shoulders, a slight curl here and there.

As she stood in front of the grimy mirror, she stared at her reflection and wondered where her mother was just as she always did when she was alone. Around the time Sienna had turned thirteen, her mother had disappeared. Her and her father had searched everywhere, but there was no trace of the woman that once was. There was no indication of murder or struggle or even foul play. It was as if she had never existed except for the few articles of clothing left behind and the photographs in their sitting room.

Shortly after that, the real danger had come. Their home had been lost when they came to take Sienna. She and her father had no choice but to flee and they had been on the run ever since. Sienna squeezed her eyes shut. She didn't want to reminisce on the pain. She wished everything was as it should be.

And more than anything she wished she did not bear such a burden.

Her eyes flew open and she tensed the muscles in her back. Clenching her teeth she pushed as out came her feathered appendages. Her wings so long and elegant, the feathers sleek, shining with the moon. Her way to escape, to fly and feel ever so free. And yet she could never use them for fear of someone hurting her. There were people in the galaxy that wanted her kind dead – hunted down, their wings sold for profit. She was nothing but game, a fleeing animal. She wondered if her mother had known the hunters were coming. If so, why didn't she tell Sienna and Farleigh? Why had she left them to fend for themselves? Was her mother really such a coward?

Sienna stared at her wings. It felt good to stretch them out, even if they were still cramped in the tiny bathroom. Her father called them a gift. He had never referred to them as anything but.

"They are a gift, Sienna, because they are a part of you, and you are a gift. You are my gift. Don't you ever forget that."

She didn't see them as a gift, though. She saw them as a death mark, an imperfection, a piece of her she had never wanted and yet she had received. Sienna stood in the dim bathroom for the longest time, staring at her wings and at her reflection.

How long would she have to run to protect something she didn't want to protect?

"Cut them off," she whispered brutally to the emptiness around her. She was always empty, always alone now. She was losing everything she loved all for a pair of feathered appendages that meant nothing, nothing at all.

"They are a gift."

A dangerous gift indeed.

A/N: So I guess this is the first chapter of another random Treasure Planet story I decided to work on. I know all of you...fangirls want Jim to come in and he will enter the story very soon, I promise. I just needed to set up a few things before I had him jump in like the awesome character he is. I'm trying to decide if I want this to be a JimxOC story, or just an interesting story about Sienna Kestrel.

I'll let you guys decide that. I don't know if anyone is actually going to be interested in this story. Probably not, so I probably won't finish this or put in as much time and effort as I do with my Sky Sailor Treasure Planet fan fictions (those are stories where Jim has a romantic relationship with another OC of mine called Alice).

Um, so yeah, if people are really interested in this story I'll write more. If not, pfff, I'll just leave it be. I probably shouldn't be starting another story, but I couldn't help myself and I had to do it. Creative ideas do that to you.

So I guess I hope somebody enjoys this. If not, it's cool, thanks for giving it a read anyway, I very much appreciate it.