Chapter 1
"Solara?" Toramizu Solara blinked as she focused on the window she had been staring out. She turned her gaze to the right to look at her friend.
"Koyuki. What is it?"
Koyuki giggled. "Come on, daydreamer. It's time to go home. Didn't you hear the bell?"
"Ah." Solara, or Sol as Koyuki and her mom called her, glanced back at the window, but the hazy memory was gone. No point in trying to chase it. She stood.
Now that she was focusing again, she could hear the snickering of their classmates. A single glance silenced them. It had been a long time since anyone had tried to pick a fight with her. Not that she cared.
Placing her hand on the small of Koyuki's back, she guided her out of the classroom. Sol listened absently as Koyuki chattered about the antics of their classmates while they got their bags and left the school.
"What were you thinking about, Sol?" Koyuki asked once they were off schoolgrounds and away from the other students. At first, Sol didn't say anything, but Koyuki waited.
"MÄR." She said after a minute.
Koyuki frowned sadly. She knew Sol still dreamed of the mystical land, but she rarely talked about it anymore.
Six years ago, about 3 months after her father disappeared, Sol woke up screaming and bleeding from a head injury that had no explanation. Sol spent a month in the hospital. When the 10-year-old was released, her personality was very subdued and her memories of MÄR were badly damaged. The most shocking thing though was her physical changes. Her flaming red hair turned black, her purple eyes turned blue, and her pale skin turn an almost sickly white.
A week after she got out, Koyuki asked why she had stopped talking about MÄR.
"Did you stop dreaming about it?"
"No." After a moment she added, "He took everything."
"He? Who's he?"
That was a question that Sol never answered, but Koyuki never asked again because the look in her eyes had alarmed her.
Koyuki had a different question now. "Sol," Solara tilted her head towards her, "would you want to go to MÄR?"
Solara froze. Koyuki stopped. Sol stared at her for several long moments. Finally, she opened her mouth.
"Hey! Sol! Is Koyuki gonna join us for dinner?" her mom yelled from their balcony.
Sol pursed her lips in annoyance. "Well?"
Koyuki laughed and shook her head. "Not tonight. I'm going shopping with mama after dinner."
Sol nodded. "Alright. See you tomorrow." Koyuki waved as she ran off.
