… ended a nightmare

The sun's rays beamed over the sandy horizon, signifying the beginning of another day. Castle slaves had long since been awake, making the usual preparations. But today, they awoke even earlier than usual; the entire royal family would be dining together. Starfire was sleeping soundly in her bed, far past the hour she was expected to get up for such an occasion.

BANG BANG BANG

"Hhhhmmmm?" moaned Starfire, not entirely waking up. Blackfire sighed from behind the door before slowly opening it and stepping in. She stood silent for a moment as she looked around her little sister's room.

Oy vey, thought Blackfire. I wonder if she's gonna redecorate soon. Countless shades of pink and purple assaulted the eyes. The comforter on her bed, the carpet, the drapes, the walls… they were almost entirely pink or purple.

Starfire's bed was in the middle of the rectangular room opposite the door. On either side there were large glass windows. To the right there was the bathroom and a huge walk in closet that housed all the ceremonial garbs and outfits necessary for a Tamaranian princess. To the left was the balcony. Lots of stuffed animals were littered around the room, as was anything else that she deemed "cute".

Well, pink walls and stuffed animals never hurt anyone, I suppose.

Blackfire strutted up to her sister and sat on the side of her bed. Despite the disturbance, Starfire slept lightly. Blackfire never ceased to be amazed at her sister's habits.

"Starfire…" came the whisper.

No response.

"Starfire…" she whispered again, gently ruffling her little sister's hair.

Starfire slowly opened her eyes, causing the view of her sister's almost motherly face to come into focus.

"Ghood mhorning," replied Starfire with a broad smile.

"We have breakfast with mom and dad in ten minutes," said Blackfire, "and you stink like a baking carcass."

"EEP!" screamed Starfire as she jolted up and out of bed, heading for the shower.

"Nah, just kidding. We have twenty minutes."

Starfire paused and looked back at her sister with an unusually sardonic look.

"Well," defended Blackfire with a raise of the shoulders and a tilt of the head, "it got you moving, didn't it? Now get ready, fast."

"Thank you sisterrrr…" said Starfire as she jumped into the bathroom. Blackfire rolled her eyes a little and smiled as she got up to leave for the royal dinner room.

---

Much of the day had passed without event. Evening rolled around, followed by night.

Starfire was lying stretched out on her bed, eyes closed, and thinking about many troublesome things.

KNOCK KNOCK

"Yes?" asked Starfire.

"Me," said Blackfire.

"Do come in."

"Hey," said Blackfire as she casually stepped in, "I'm heading out. Wanna come? Things might go a little better this time."

Starfire gulped visibly. "I would… rather spend the night here."

"Okay, suit yourself," replied Blackfire nonchalantly. "Can I borrow one of your outfits again? My older ones that I wore the first couple times I went are… uncomfortable."

Starfire turned her eyes away from her sister and made a peculiar mumbling sound. After a few seconds, she muttered an affirmation.

"Hey, thanks, sis!" exclaimed Blackfire as she walked over to Starfire's closet and seized a neatly folded uniform. She slung the clothing over her shoulder and started to make her way out.

"Hey, thanks again Starfire."

Starfire contorted uncomfortably on her bed as she sat up in a plainly unusual position. Blackfire paused just before exiting, noticing her sister's evident discomfort. She promptly flopped over on her sister's bed, trying to look her in the eye.

"What's wrong?" asked Blackfire with a perplexed look.

Starfire stared blankly out one of the windows in her room, obviously conflicted within herself. "Uh, nothing," she lied.

"You know that I know you're lying." Blackfire's voice was cool and serious.

Starfire kept staring out the window. She felt like an invisible force was clamping her jaw shut. Finally, she faced her sister and smiled the smile. The smile; even more fake than usual.

"Erm… have… fun?" mumbled Starfire.

Blackfire would have laughed if her sister's mood wasn't so viciously stark. She exhaled deeply before standing up and heading towards her sister's door. I hate to leave her like this, but she's not talking anyways. Blackfire pondered her sister's situation, thinking desperately of how it could be remedied.

"Listen sis, Galfore needs a workout partner. He's in the south tower's training room. Why don't you go help him out?"

Starfire considered the idea for a moment. "Okay…" she submitted.

Whew, thought Blackfire, I think she means it.

"Okay, see you tomorrow sis."

"Good bye, sister."

---

Galfore huffed furiously as he completed his last few repetitions. Stretched out on his back over a low bench, he grasped an extremely heavy set of stones in each hand. Keeping his arms straight, he was to bring them from as far apart as they could be; even with the rest of his body, to as close as they could be; directly above his head.

The weights hit the ground with a heavy thud. Galfore had had enough for one night, and he was getting sick of the unpleasant stench and abundant dust in the massive training room. Large enough to allow seventy men to train at once on a variety of machines, the hall made sure that the palace guards remained at the pinnacle of fitness.

"Hello K'norfka!" intruded Starfire.

"Hello Bungorf," replied Galfore. He knew she was coming for a while now. Even though she tried time and again to sneak up on him, she couldn't seem to do it. Galfore turned around to see his red haired girl seated on the head of the bench.

"What brings you here, little one? The sight of me training is hardly rare; even less so the smell of me sweating."

"Oh…" mumbled Starfire.

Galfore could tell that she wouldn't speak her mind until after they'd chewed through some small talk, so he asked the one he loved as a daughter how her own training was doing. Starfire replied that the physical trainer in charge of the two princesses was very pleased with her performance. The trainer suggested she work on launching her starbolts more accurately, as opposed to flinging them wildly in great quantity. But the trainer never failed to notice that the power and heat of her starbolts almost made up for this.

"And how proceeds your education?" asked Galfore.

"Teacher says I'm improving," smiled Starfire.

Surprisingly, academics seemed to be the only place where both Starfire and Blackfire were slightly below par. They were at roughly the same level, with Starfire being a better reader and artist, and Blackfire possessing superior math and scientific skills. Neither were as scholastic as their mother or father.

"I see," acknowledged Galfore, gently hinting in his voice that she could address the real issue anytime she felt like it.

Wanting to stretch the small talk a little farther, Starfire desperately searched for where to go next.

"K'norfka, what is 'Vit'essque'?"

The air between the two suddenly shifted. Galfore stared intently at Starfire, taken aback by what she had just said. Starfire quickly realized that she had unknowingly stepped into the serious whether she wanted to or not.

"Where did you hear that word?" asked Galfore firmly.

"Uhhmm…" panicked Starfire, "just a… stranger spoke it…."

Galfore's mind went to work immediately. No one in the castle would utter such a word – these were hand chosen men, the cream of the crop. The only other people who could say such a thing were outsiders. And the only time Galfore allowed Starfire to spend any time with outsiders was when she was with her sister. Her sister, who was about to receive a serious speech from Galfore.

"Where is your sister?" asked Galfore.

"I… do not know."

Galfore grunted harshly as he stood up. "It is powerful narcotic. It dampens perception of pain thus allowing the user to push their body farther than is healthy. More often, it induces delusional behaviour and hallucinations."

Starfire listened submissively in silence, humbled by what she was hearing. She couldn't take her eyes away from her K'norfka's piercing gaze. Realizing that he was frightening her more than he intended, Galfore leaned over and smiled reassuringly.

"Go to bed, Starfire. You need sleep."

"Yes K'norfka."

Starfire got up and tiredly trudged over to the exit. Galfore eyed her every step of the way.

---

The next morning was a lazy one. Once again, Starfire slept a little past the designated time. She yawned widely as she rolled out of bed. After a good stretch, she stepped out onto her balcony to absorb the view. The sun was already well up, and the heat was up with it. Another wonderfully hot Tamaranian day, she thought to herself.

After taking a quick shower and getting into her usual purple skirt and top, she headed out of the small door (one of the few in the entire palace) that led to the hallway. Starfire strutted happily down the hall, heading towards the royal dining room. She noticed that the guard's faces weren't quite as stern and emotionless as usual.

After rounding a corner, one of the guards abruptly stepped in front of her. He kneeled in front of her and bowed his head as he spoke.

"Your K'norfka wishes to see you immediately. Please follow me."

"Oh…" muttered Starfire. "Very well."

Starfire followed the muscular guard through a few hallways that she rarely used and to a small meeting room deep in the palace. The guard stopped at the edge of the hallway and gestured towards the red curtain that afforded the room some privacy.

Starfire pushed through the curtain and stepped into the small windowless room. Only one of the torches were lit, casting a dim light onto the pale orange walls. She noticed Galfore sitting sternly at the far end of the room in the only chair, his palm covering his face. Xu'ffash stood a few feet beside him, eyes unable to look at anything but his own feet.

"What is it, K'norfka?" asked Starfire, curious about what was to come.

Galfore removed his palm from his face and rested it on the chair's arm, uncovering a look of severe, bitter sadness. Or was it anger? Starfire couldn't tell; she had never seen him with such a look before. Galfore spoke in a grave tone as he told Starfire the last words in the universe that she wanted to hear.

"Your sister was found dead early this morning. She died from an overdose of drugs."