The stares.
The dozens of eyes that watched my every move as I walked somberly through the village.
The snow crunched beneath my feet as I walked, a thousand eyes of my Clan watched me as I made my way to my house.
"She's back!"
"I thought she was dead. Velvet Star NEVER takes that long!"
"What happened?"
"Did she… you know… fail?"
I narrowed my eyes. Their whispers didn't fall deaf on me. The reputation I had worked so hard to build so that my name wouldn't be erased like all Shadows before I had come crumbling down around my feet.
But I could care less.
All I could think about was what Astoria was doing.
I hated picturing her in my mind, reading my letter that I had hastily left in the dead of night. I could only hope she wouldn't hate me for it.
White Star walked in front of me silently, glaring at anyone who tried to approach us.
Sadly though, Blue Star didn't know how to read eyes.
"Oh my dear Master White Star! You've returned! And with our dear, missing Shadow! Well done, well done! Your father will be SO pleased!" He cried, waving his arms in a dramatic bow. White Star glared at the man, but ignored him and walked past.
As I walked past him, I could feel Blue Star's eyes boring into me with unsheathed anger. He had praised me so often, so now knowing that I had "failed" at something, he was suddenly embarrassed. That's how he was.
As we approached the house, I saw the Chieftain standing at the end of the porch, his crimson eyes staring down at me.
"Velvet Star, my dear, dear, daughter-in-law," he whispered just loud enough for me to hear. as I climbed the stairs, White Star moved over to give me a straight shot at the Chieftain. I stopped two steps down from him.
His eyes narrowed, staring down at me with disdain. He lifted his hand.
SMACK
His hand cut across my face in a powerful slap. My cheek stung, and I bit back a cry of pain.
"You are a disgrace. I praise you, give you everything you could ever ask for. I relieve you of your disgusting parents, and give my son to you to love and hold. And this is the thanks I get? You leave on a mission when it was clear you were to stay home, and not only that, but you take a week to finish it. You were destined to be the greatest Shadow we've had, your name actually making it into the history of the Chieftains. But now, you've taken all of your gifts, and SPAT IN OUR FACES!"
I stayed silent, keeping my eyes on the ground.
He snatched my jaw, "Look at me!"
I narrowed my eyes, curling my lip as I was forced to look up at the Chieftain.
"I think you've overstayed your welcome. You aren't to leave the house unless told to by me or White Star, understood!?" He snapped, spitting in my face.
I glared, "Crystal."
He lifted me off the ground and tossed me behind him. I landed on my side, pain shooting through my arm and hip. I picked myself up, dusting off my clothes and walking into the house. I didn't stop to grab anything to eat or drink, but went straight up to the room I used to sleep in.
With White Star sharing a room due to our marriage, it was hard to find any peace or solitude. So I had to make my solitude. I entered the empty room and slammed the door behind me, locking it shut.
I slid down to my knees, and buried my face into my hands.
My time of peace, was over.
To my eternal gratefulness, a few stupid members of our Clan had an undying loyalty to me. These few young Clusters knew nothing of Astoria's name or that she had a bounty on her head. So using them, I had them infiltrate Melody three days after I had returned.
To my relief, the Clan hadn't checked on my work, and the young weapon lived on.
It had been three weeks since my return, and I hardly left the old room. White Star didn't seem to mind, saying he wanted time away from his "failed" wife, and would only drag me into the bedroom to "solidify" our bond.
Looking back, the fact that I was forced to have sex over and over at the tender age of ten onward disgusts me. But it was nothing compared to future suffering I was put through.
I sat alone in my room, lost in my thoughts.
With the realization that every mission was not a way to save others, but heartless murders for money, glory, I was at a loss as to what to do.
Sleeping on that cold, hard floor kept me up at night, and my mind running a million miles a minute. Every morning, White Star would wake me up to tell me if he was going on a mission or not. He'd try to coax me out of the room often, saying that if I would be a good house-wife, he'd grant me a mission. But I knew he was lying.
I'd only leave the room when the Chieftain and White Star had gone to bed, and that was to get food.
The problem I was facing now was what to do with my clan.
Our Clan has been killing innocent people for generations, and I was a part of those heartless murders. I needed to atone for my sins. I wouldn't be able to rest peacefully until I had. But my problem was how I was going to do it.
I couldn't run away. They'd track me down and drag me back kicking and screaming.
I could try killing the Chieftain, but as long as one member remained, the Star Clan would live on. I would need to make and execute a plan that would end the whole of the Star Clan in one swift motion.
The Star Clan had bases all over Asia, and it would be impossible to go to each and kill off each member. Any danger involving the revelation of a bases location, we go into hiding. I sat against the wall, closing my eyes in thought. When was there a time, when every member of the Star Clan was gathered in one place?
I furrowed my eyes, rubbing my neck. Not weddings or death ceremonies, not even the birth of a new heir…
The heir…
The Coronation.
Whenever the Heir was crowned the new Chieftain, a large ceremony is held. With the Chieftain controlling bases all over Asia, every member of the Clan would gather here in Wakkanai to witness the rise of the new generation.
But there was a problem with that plan.
The heir was crowned at the age of twenty-one.
Over a decade from now.
So many people would die between now and then. But there was no other way to get everyone in one place. If one base was attacked, the others would leave. There was no other plan.
I snarled at the ceiling. But even if I did try and eliminate the Clan at White Star's coronation, there was no possible way I could do it alone. That feat would take an army. An army I didn't have.
I rolled over onto my side, sighing in defeat.
There was no way for me to do this alone. I would need help. But the help wouldn't come easy. People would die. It was an unavoidable fact.
Who could I…
"Hey. Lady Velvet Star!"
I opened my eyes, hearing a voice call out to me. I stood up, walking over to the window. I saw five people standing underneath the window, staring up at me with wide, happy eyes.
This was my little anterouge, the people who held their loyalty to me after I had been locked up in the house.
"Amber Star, what do you need?" I asked, leaning on the window sill.
The young girl smiled up at me, pulling a piece of paper out of her pocket.
"So we went to check on that house again, and saw a letter near the lake. It's addressed to you!" She chirped, turning to the others.
"Auburn, Azure! Help me up!"
The two other girls lifted Amber up onto their shoulders, lifting her up to that she could hand me the letter she spoke up.
I reached down and took it, turning it over to see my name written gently onto the envelope.
I immediately recognized the handwriting.
Astoria.
I tore open the envelope, pulling out a small note written on notebook paper.
"Velvet,
I'm not sure what happened, but don't worry, I'm not mad about you leaving. I know your time here was going to be limited because of your home life. I'm glad I got to meet you. I hope I'll be able to see you again one day. Don't go killing people for bumping into you okay? I don't want you getting in trouble!
With Love,
Astoria"
My jaw tightened.
I crumpled the paper in my fist, feeling my heart pounding against my rib cage.
I tossed the note out the window.
"Burn it…"
"Lady Velvet-"
"Just do it!"
I heard the five young clusters scramble down below the window seal, three of them running with the note to hopefully start a fire.
The last two, Auburn and Azure, stared up me with worried eyes.
"Lady Velvet? Do you want us to bring you anything?" Azure asked, standing in her toes. I shook my head.
"No. And if you know what's good for you, you'll stop visiting me."
The two girls stared up at me with frightened eyes, "B-But…"
"Look, it's not like I don't appreciate your company; I do. But if you keep showing up, you'll be found out eventually, and killed. I already have too many burdens on my chest. If you die, it'll be on me. So go, and unless I call you, don't come back, you hear me?"
The two nodded their heads solemnly, retreating back into the woods.
I slowly slid down the wall next to my window, staring up at the ceiling.
I slumped over into my side, the cold wood floor sending goosebumps up my spine.
She wasn't mad.
She wasn't mad.
How could she not be!? I abandoned her in the dead of night, and never even said goodbye! How could she not be at least a little angry with me!?
I stood up and closed my window, casting the ratty curtain over the glass. I walked over to the corner of the room and sat down. I pulled a nearby, patchy blanket over to me and cast it over my shoulders. I tucked my knees to my chest and lowered my head, curling myself into a tight ball.
I squeezed my eyes shut, feeling a burning sensation sting them.
Big, hot tears began to roll down my cheeks, and a hiccup escaped my throat.
For one of the few times in my life, I descended into soft, but heavy sobs, the sadness over leaving Astoria overtaking me.
My Clan was a lie. My heart had been stolen. And my life, now in shambles.
Nothing would ever be the same for me again…
I'm BACK!
Here is chapter 12 of ASR! It's very short, but I don't want these sort of filler chapters to go on too long. I wanna make them straight to the point in a way.
I'm going to monthly updates to make sure I'm giving you guys the best of the best! Hope you guys will understand!
So let's talk about our chapter here...
Velvet forcibly returns to the Star Clan with a new view of everything around her. Surrounded by killers, including herself, Velvet decides to think of a plan to end the Star Clan. We know how that ends, but the story to get will be quiet the tale~
And poor Velvet's under house arrest. She's got a little following of clusters who secretly carry out some surveillance for her, but she doesn't want them to get hurt for her. How some people change huh?
And that's all I gotta say! A Star's Revelation is updated monthly!
NEXT TIME:
Almost a year passes after Velvet was forced to leave Astoria behind. Still locked in her own home, Velvet is nothing more than a toy for White Star and has been practically sealed off from the world. However, one of the Clusters loyal to Velvet tells her that a girl resembling Astoria has left for Death City with a monster at her side. What monster are they talking about, and what will Velvet do?
Find Out In Chapter 13: A Word of Power!
~HUGS ALL AROUND~