Shooting Stars: Kristina's Story

I wasn't born Kristina Ann Reeds. Maybe that's just not the girl I was meant to be. Maybe that's why my life never seemed to fit me.

I don't know who I was supposed to be, what sort of girl. My older brothers... well, just one older brother now... says I was supposed to be Roxanna Isleen Dara. Sometimes he calls me Roxanna, maybe just to remind me that the people I live with aren't my parents. I don't need that reminder. I have friends who were also adopted, and they're content, but I'm just... not. Or at least, I wasn't. Things have been changing fast lately.

I guess I should start from the beginning. As I mentioned, I was adopted. It was back when I was three. Twelve years ago. I've known that I was adopted forever, there's no dramatic "finding out" story for me. Even if I didn't know, I'm sure I would have figured it out. I'm petite, with a heart shaped face that makes me look younger and more innocent than I am. My hair is shoulder length, curly, and brown. I'm lightly tanned... naturally pale, but I'm the outdoorsy type. You don't get a lot of sun here in Washington state, but I make sure to soak up the little I can get.

My parents are different, my adoptive dad with Mediterranean skin and hair, darker than my brothers and me, my adoptive mother with red hair, pale skin, and a smattering of freckles. So we don't look much alike.

At first, I lived with my adoptive parents and my three brothers. But when I was eleven, my oldest brother disappeared. Nobody knew where he went. Except for me. I saw him go through a portal. Not like anyone would believe a gangly preteen girl. That was before all the fairy drama, the reemergence of magic that was still happening. Even now, it was still growing. The news coverage never seemed to stop. Now, it wasn't just that there were fairies- it was that teenage girls were turning into them. Parents were scared. Little girls were ecstatic. Plenty of people were just freaked out.

I won't lie... I'd dreamed of being a fairy. Can you imagine? Flying over buildings, up in the clouds, through rainbows. I guess I'm just a typical (probable) Pisces. Daydreaming is in my nature. I do it way too often.

Anyways, after my brother disappeared, I guess I withdrew a little- at least, that's what my parents said. I threw myself into my martial arts studies. I daydreamed twice as much. My grades, well, they really suffered. I got grounded at least a hundred times from the time Caleb disappeared to the day I turned fifteen.

Because on the day I turned fifteen, my life changed. That's when everything started to click.

"Happy alleged birthday," Mom whispered as she gently shook me, trying to get me up.

I groaned. "Tired."

"I know, birthday girl. Logan was too."

I pushed my body up so I was sitting upright in my bed. "Finally, something we agree on."

Mom laughed. It was actually a pretty funny comment... though I was known for my wit, it was hard to say something like that when I was this groggy. But it was a true fact. Logan and I were fraternal twins, and despite the people who say twins share one mind... we just didn't. We were a brother and sister who never clicked.

Mom and Dad always pointed out that there was a chance we weren't actually twins, though we certainly looked like we were. Caleb and William, my other brother, hadn't remembered the birthdays of Logan or me, so we celebrated the day we got adopted instead, and guessed our age at three. We could have been two, or maybe four. Thinking of that, I got vaguely annoyed that I could have possibly been driving this year if my age had been guessed one year older. And I'd be closer to graduation too... closer to leaving Port Angeles for good.

I got up from my bed and yawned. "What's on the schedule for today?"

"Well, Dad and I have to work from seven until five. Then we'll come home around six, and go out to dinner."

"At India Oven?" I guessed. It was a family favorite.

"Yep! Sound good?"

No. I hated India Oven. Nothing against any Indians, but I am not a fan of your food. "Sounds good," I lied brightly.

"I'm surprised you agree. Logan picked it."

Of course. I should have known. Next time I got to choose a restaurant, I was picking Bella Italia, his least favorite, just to spite him.

Mom left the room, humming to herself, and I decided to get dressed and go outside, maybe do some hiking through the woods. Since it was my birthday and all, I decided to wear my favorite outfit- a black miniskirt, purple hoodie, purple socks and my favorite knee-high Converse. I threw my hair in a ponytail and was already out the door when I felt the chilly wind on my body. I quickly darted back in to grab my leather jacket- fake leather, of course. I hated real leather, since I hated harming animals.

The sky was cloudy- no big surprise. At least it wasn't raining. Guess that was the weather's birthday gift to me. Thinking about that, I walked through my backyard and into the woods that started in our property and ended who-knows-where.

I had hiked for maybe an hour when I heard the noise that rocked my world. I immediately knew it wasn't an animal. I probably should have ran back home, but regrettably, my natural curiosity took hold and I forged on. Soon, I found myself in a small clearing, barely big enough for five people standing side to side in a circle. Taking up most of the room was a really, really cute guy. Who happened to look really, really mean.

I didn't say anything. What do you say when you meet a blue haired guy standing in the middle of the woods wearing... was that a blue flannel shirt and jeans underneath battle armor? Whoa.

He looked at me. For a moment, we just stared into each others eyes. Finally, he said, "Who are you?"

"Kristina," I said, my voice small amidst all the trees.

"Kristina of what?"

My brow furrowed in confusion. "Um, Kristina of who-knows-where? I'm adopted."

Cutie's eyes widened, and he smiled. I didn't trust that smile. "You're perfect."

With two steps forward, he grabbed me by the arm."Let go of me!" I yelled, trying to shake him off, but it was no use. I continued to scream. "Let go! Get off!"

"Hear that?" I heard from someone behind me while I took a breath between screams.

"Yes. Do you think it could be..." This voice was accented, oddly accented.

"Well, who else could it be. Seriously, Saf." This voice was different than the two before it.

An annoyed, older sounding voice chimed in, marking at least four people. "Girls, stop bickering. We need to get to her. It may already be too late."

It was the third voice that said, "Alright, alright! Geez, Lysis..."

The cute dude's grip on my arm tightened as three fairies came flying into the small area (and one walked... what was up with that?).

I had never seen a fairy in person before. It was an incredible sight. They each looked beautiful and unique. One wore green, one silver, one pink, and one white. Their wings were translucent and lovely. I immediately wanted a pair for myself. As they landed and glared at the cute boy, I became slightly scared. "Who are you?" I asked, a little nervously.

The one in the silver one-piece glanced at me. "The president of the USA and his secret service agents." She rolled her eyes. "Seriously. Who do we look like to you?"

"Fairies. Duh. But what are your names?"

"She's being held by an evil wizard... and she wants to know our names?"

The one in a white toga-like dress-y thing frowned at the silver-clad girl. "Avalon, be nice. She's probably never seen a fairy before."

"Saf, Avalon has a point." This time, the girl in green with... wait, was her hair pink?... was the speaker. "We don't have time to waste!"

With that, they rushed towards me. I cried out and braced myself. But I only felt release on my arm, and heard a soft, male voice go "oof!" I looked around and found him on the ground, clutching his... um... well, guy parts.

Avalon smiled. "My dad taught me well," she said. There was a few beats of silence, and then she added, "What are you standing here for? Run back home! Are you stupid or something?"

"No! I'm not!" I glared at her. I could already tell I didn't like her very much.

The guy got up, still groaning. "You fairies never get any less annoying," he spat, before raising his hand and shooting a laser-like beam at the girl in green.

With a wave of her own palm, a shield went up, and the laser ricocheted back and hit a tree, burning a small hole into it. "Ouch," the girl commented. "A little lower and I would have been barbecued fairy."

The girl who I guessed to be the oldest, the one wearing pink, nodded, as if she decided something. "Safeyah, Avalon, you need to get this girl to safety. Roxy and I will take care of Nyklus."

"For good this time?" the Amazing Annoying Avalon asked excitedly.

"If we can."

"I wanted to be in on the whole final defeat thing, but if you guys really need me to babysit, I will." She sounded pained. "Come on, shrimpgirl. Let's head out before things get ugly."

"Shrimpgirl!" I screeched. Just because I was tiny?

Avalon took my left hand, and the girl I assumed to be Safeyah took my right. They gripped them carefully, then pushed up off the ground and began to fly, with me between them. "Whoa!" I said. Flying was much better than I had ever imagined, even with Avalon accidentally bumping me into trees. "Have you not been flying very long or something?" I questioned.

"No, actually I just enjoy watching you get hurt," she shot back quickly. "Now stop talking before you say something that really pisses me off or a bee flies in there."

I shut my mouth.

We dodged the trees for maybe five minutes until we were out of the woods and back in my yard. They set me down. "Ow," Safeyah said. "My arm does not feel too well."

"Talk about it," Avalon complained.

"At least you guys only had to carry me with one arm; both of my arms ache."

Avalon, who by now I really didn't like, looked at me sharply. "You didn't have to do any work. Stop complaining."

There was a bright flash around the two fairies, and when the light faded, their wings were gone, as were their beautiful sparkly outfit. Avalon was in a ratty men's tee shirt and old blue jean shorts, while Safeyah contrasted in a dandelion yellow jumper that fit well over a white turtleneck. They weren't exactly dressed for Washington state in March, but they ignored the bitter cold. Not very well, though. I saw Avalon shiver. "Why don't you come inside?" I asked.

"This is your house?"

Finally a chance to repay Avalon for her snark. "No, I'm just inviting you into a random stranger's building because I'm weird like that."

I thought that would best her, but she immediately responded, "I'd believe it," and I scowled.

I held the door open for them and they walked inside. It was still early, only about eight-fifteen, so only Logan was up. He nodded to the group of us three as we went back to my bedroom. I could see Avalon staring after him as the door shut. "Your brother?" she asked.

"Yeah, that's Logan. We're twins. Fifteen years old today."

"Oh! Is today your birthday?" Saf asked.

"Mmmhmm."

"That's cool," Avalon said, and my jaw very nearly dropped. "I just turned sixteen... oh, about two weeks ago. So our birthdays are relatively close."

"I guess so! Even in age... I might be sixteen. Then again, I might be fourteen. I'm adopted, and there weren't proper papers, so we don't really know. We just know Logan and I were around toddler-age when the Reeds adopted us."

"Are you happy that you were adopted?" Safeyah asked me.

I bit my lip. "I guess. I wonder about my parents. My older brother William remembers them a little. I don't understand why they'd give all of us up. And I never fit in with my adoptive family. But I prefer this to, oh, being in the foster system or the Catholic orphanage a few cities down."

"Maybe they had to. Maybe they could not take care of you."

Shrugging, I sighed. "I don't want to talk about this anymore."

"Alright. Well... I'm sure you have many questions."

"I have a question," Avalon cut in before I even said a word. "What's shrimpgirl's name? She hasn't told us yet."

Safeyah blushed. "Oh, I really should have asked that."

"My name is Kristina Ann Reeds."

"Nice to meet you, Kristina," said the darker-skinned girl. "I am Safeyah Hafeji. This is Avalon MacAdams."

"Have you always been fairies?" I blurted. That was a question I was dying to know, before the rude one interrupted me.

She laughed softly. "I don't know. The science behind it is very complex. I suppose we always had the potential to be fairies, but no, we haven't been raised as them. I found out about my powers a month and a half ago, when I moved to Gardenia, California and met Roxy and Nyklus."

"Roxy?"

"She is the one with the pink hair and the broken wing."

Oh. Her wing was broken. That would explain why she was walking when the others flew. If I was any indication, it would be tiring to carry her around all the time. Though I didn't know the girl, I felt sorry for her. "Can it ever be fixed?"

"With time and rest, neither of which is particularly available to her." Safeyah grimaced. "Lysis- that is the blonde woman- does her best to help Roxy, but it is not a one-girl job. Avalon and I would help, but as I said, I am new; Avalon is even less experienced than I am. It is a lose-lose situation, I think?" She looked at Avalon for confirmation, and she received it. "Excuse me, English is not my first language. As I said, a lose-lose situation. If Roxy does not rest, she cannot heal. However, if Roxy rests... well then, what nearly happened today will happen quickly and oftener."

"Often, Saf. Or you could just be like normal Americans and say 'more,' got it?"

"I do not think that is correct?" Her statement lifted up at the end, inquisitive.

"Ain't it true, but nobody actually speaks right. It's the twenty-first century. We're rewriting English."

"What did happen today?" I was eager to get back on topic.

The more annoying of the two took over. "Well, that dude was Nyklus. He's got some big grudge against her for killing his four gay daddies." Safeyah glared. "Well," Avalon amended, "that's the basic idea. He wants to find new fairies too. For what, we don't know much. Roxy thinks he just wants to kill them or capture them, but Lysis doesn't think so."

"What does she think?"

"That he's somehow taking away their powers."

"Oh." What do you say to that? "Why was he after me, then?"

The fairies looked at each other. "I'm not so good at this speech," Safeyah said with a sheepish grin.

"What speech?"

She opened her mouth to answer, but before she could, the doorbell rang. All three of us jumped up and raced to the door, and I glanced out the peephole. "Is it that creep Nyklus?" Avalon asked.

"No, it's your two friends," I said as I opened the door and let them in.

With a better view of them, I could see that they were scratched and cut, nothing too bad, but still enough to smart. "Did you take care of him?" Avalon asked.

Roxy sighed. "No. He got away. But we did the important thing and protected... um... what's her name?"

"Kristina." Safeyah answered for me.

My eyes widened. "Important? Protect? Me?"

Lysis furrowed her brow. "Safeyah, Avalon, didn't you tell her?"

"No, but I think shrimpgirl's figured it out for herself." Avalon grinned.

"I'm a fairy, aren't I?" I jumped up in the air. "Oh my gosh, I'm a fairy! That is seriously the coolest thing ever! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

I danced around the living room, not caring how ridiculous I looked. I felt great. I was a fairy! I could do magic! Someday soon I would be able to transform and fly!"

Then I stopped. "Wait. Do I have to fight?"

The room went silent. After a few beats, Lysis said, "We'd like you to help us... but if you can't, we'll respect that. There are other paths for fairies to go down that are non-violent."

"I try really, really hard not to fight... and I know I don't always succeed... but I don't think I can help you with this."

"So what are you going to do?" Avalon asked. I got a slight feeling of anger from her. "Stay here?"

"No." The voice was Roxy's. "She can go to Gardenia and Tir Nan Og and train as a fairy with whatever path she wants. She deserves that chance. The travelling path isn't for everyone."

"Will it be an issue with your parents?" Lysis asked.

I thought. "No." That was a lie. I was running away from home. "Give me a moment to go pack some things. I can be out in half an hour."

As I raced to my room, I sighed. I was a little sad to leave. But I really had never fit in here. I always wanted out of Port Angeles. And this... this was my chance to fly. My chance to be a shooting star.

You're the fairy of dreams, I knew instinctively.

It really did fit.

Author's Note: Kristina belongs to RainFlowers. I changed some things, but I hope she's still okay!

I feel bad that this chapter is a huge chunk dialogue, hope you'll forgive me!

Next up is LeLe; I have a great chapter planned for her! :)