Starlit Verdict

"Don't worry, the food isn't going anywhere…"

Maybe she was thinking about those men she’d mentioned (I hadn’t told her what had become of them, for obvious reasons), but right in front of me Isara was demolishing her plate as if someone might snatch it away at any moment.

She looks like a hamster with her cheeks stuffed full…

Gulp!

"I'm sorry, Zendal! It’s just that I’ve never eaten anything this delicious! I always thought my mom was the best cook in the world, but…" said Isara, at first excited, though her voice turned a little sad when she mentioned her mother.

"If your mother had had the same ingredients and spices, she would have made something much better than mine," I said with a smile.

"Really? I don’t think there’s anything better than this…"

"I’m sure of it, there’s nothing better than the food your loved ones make, because they prepare it with love."

"Zendal, you can’t eat love…"

"It’s a figure of speech," I replied, laughing. "It means they make it with care so the people they cherish can enjoy it."

"I see… even so, I think you’re an excellent cook… We could start a restaurant!… Ah, sorry… you’ll probably keep traveling… And I could only wash the dishes anyway…"

She kept eating, a little downcast, but with each spoonful of stew her face lit up more and more.

After a while, and with her stomach full, Isara set down her utensils with a satisfied sigh. Even so, she kept glancing at the pot over the fire, worried the leftovers might vanish into thin air.

"Don’t worry, it’ll still be there for breakfast," I reassured her with a smile. "Now there’s another matter we need to deal with."

"What is it?" the little girl asked, intrigued. A sound in the distance answered her question.

She hadn’t noticed the flash of light far off while she was eating, but she did notice the fierce-looking, beautiful woman who was approaching.

"Zendal! I brought what you asked for!"

In her hands, the woman with fire-colored hair carried a change of clothes for Isara, along with handmade soap and shampoo.

"Hello?" said Isara, not understanding what was happening.

"She’s Merite, one of my traveling companions," I said, gesturing to the spirit beside me, who was smiling with an air of superiority. "Merite, this is Isara. I’m leaving her in your care."

"Of course," Merite replied, puffing out her chest, then turned to Isara. "Kid, with me the lake’s waters will feel like hot springs, so there’s no problem bathing at this hour. But above all, I’m going to teach you the dangers of water and why you should never trust it!"

"O-okay?!" Isara answered, more confused than before. "But this lake is pretty calm…"

"Isara, you need to go to a different spot than before. There might be more people looking for you around there. It’s just a precaution; Merite can take care of them without any trouble."

I had already asked for the bodies to be removed, but I still felt it was wrong for her to bathe in that place.

The little girl nodded and waved with one hand while Merite, taking the other, led her away with bright enthusiasm.

***

"Where did Merite go?" asked Isara once she was back. Well dressed and neatly combed, she really looked like a different child.

Merite had gone back to Orb after delivering her to me.

"Did you two become friends?" I asked with a smile.

"She’s a lot of fun," Isara replied, smiling back.

"That’s true," I said, laughing. "Don’t worry, she went back to our camp. I like to travel light, so I usually move ahead of the others."

"I see…" the little girl answered, a bit disappointed.

"Don’t worry, you’ll have plenty of chances to see her."

"What? How?"

"First of all, could you tell me why you’re living here alone?" Maybe it was a difficult question for Isara, but I needed to understand the situation a little better before I could decide what to do.

"It was my fault…" Isara said, head lowered. "My parents were sick, but no one wanted to help them… because I was cursed, and they said I could curse them too…"

"It isn’t your fault, little one," I said as I stepped closer and gently ruffled her hair, which messed it up again. "But why are you living here alone? And your house?"

"They told me they had to sell it to pay for the funeral… and they took most of our things too…"

"It seems fear of the curse ends where greed begins," I murmured to myself. "I think I did well to send someone to look into this…"

"Is something wrong, Zendal?"

"Tell me, Isara, would you like to travel with me for a while?"

Truth be told, I was quite interested in what Isara’s past life had been doing at Lake Coaliren, and what had happened to her. I had a feeling it was tied to Endalor, and my hunches haven’t failed me yet.

"Travel with you, Zendal?! And would we eat stew every day?!"

"We need to change it up now and then, health comes first. But I’ll try to make something good every time."

Besides, whatever her past or present might be, I couldn’t leave a child living alone in the forest… Maybe there’s an orphanage in one of the bigger cities.

"Of course I want to go with you!" Isara answered with a grin from ear to ear.

It seems that if those men who tried to kidnap her had fed her first, they might have had better results… I’m going to have to teach her to be more careful around strangers.

***

"Maybe we’ll finally be rid of the little demon."

Night had already fallen, and almost the entire village was celebrating at the tavern. Men and women danced to the sound of folk music.

"What do you mean?" asked a man, taking a deep pull of beer. "It’s true we hid tonight’s celebration so she wouldn’t show up… but I don’t think that’s enough to bother her and make her leave…"

"We haven’t even had the luck of a stray monster wandering close enough to take care of her for us," added another at the table.

"Pernias said some mercenaries were asking about her. You know how things are with human trafficking these days. We have to be careful… but if it’s her we’re talking about…"

Pernias, apparently the tavernkeeper’s name, passed by the men and gave them a wink.

"I did everything I could to make it clear nobody wants her around here," the tavernkeeper said with a satisfied grin.

"It would be a blessing if they finally took the cursed child away!" shouted a woman at the next table.

"A toast to never seeing Isara again!" added someone at another table, raising his mug.

"Her parents’ estate sold for a pretty sum, too!" exclaimed the man who seemed to be the village chief, bursting into laughter.

Krrsssh!

Thunk!

The crashing of a shattered mug and a table flipping over jolted everyone to attention.

"I already knew humans were miserable… but to think you’d do this to one of your own!"

"Who are you?!" one of the drunkards demanded of the hooded figure who had caused the commotion.

The figure threw back her hood, revealing a girl with long orange hair adorned with a side ponytail, long legs, and a lean, athletic figure. Nearly all the men (and even some of the women) fell in love at first sight.

In contrast to the vivid color of her hair, her eyes were ice blue and, like that very element, they swept across the room with a frigid calm.

"Viledy is the Sixth Comet Stella! But Viledy’s dream is to become the First!… Not that it concerns you!"

"Then why did you answer… and why in the third person?" one of the drunks muttered.

"Enough! Viledy already informed her lord," declared the girl, pointing to a curious ring on her hand. "He said we should pay you back in the same coin you used on the child!"

Viledy raised her hand, and every villager in the tavern began to float into the air. With a quick gesture of that same hand, they all shot outward and landed in the village square.

The Comet Stella made sure none of them died (Isara was alive, after all).

At the same time, beautiful soldiers in emerald armor began dragging the rest of the villagers out of their homes.

"What’s happening?!"

"Who are you people?!"

"Why are you doing this?!"

The Stellas quickly gathered all the villagers in one place, and Viledy stepped in front of them.

"Isara is now under our lord’s protection. It has been decreed that you will all suffer the very same punishment you inflicted on her. The only difference is that, in your case, it will be deserved."

Viledy lifted her hand toward the sky, and it began to shine. Soon every house and building in the village started to tremble.

"What is she doing?!"

"Somebody stop her!"

!!!!!!!

Before long, the villagers stared, dumbfounded, as their homes rose high into the sky.

"Nooo!"

"She’s a monster! Somebody help us!"

They didn’t just float. The entire village converged into a single point above their heads and, with a thunderous roar, collapsed in on itself and vanished.

"Viledy is not a monster. Viledy is a greater spirit, you insolent humans!" declared the Comet Stella, folding her arms. "Hmph!"

"A greater spirit?!" cried one of the women, clutching her child.

"A god upon the earth…" murmured a man beside her.

The arm folding didn’t last long. Viledy stretched out her hand, and the ring she had shown earlier began to glow. A portal opened before her.

Through it, the few villagers who weren’t too dazed could see a gigantic tree at the heart of a wondrous city surrounded by forests.

"The realm of the gods…" one of them said.

"Now you’re going to learn to live the way the child did in the wild… but hey, there’s strength in numbers. If you let any of the children or the elderly die, her lord has ordered Viledy to return and deliver an even harsher punishment," declared the Comet Stella before stepping through the portal.

The rest of the Stellas followed in neat formation, leaving the villagers stunned and abandoned to their fate.