Chapter 6: Sky - Luna and Star

After a few days, I had settled into their routine. I sat with Leaf and listened to the stories of her life. It was crazy to think about everything she had to go through just because she was different. The stories that we had all heard about growing up were about her parents, and the demon was her father. The goddess in her dreams had told her that her father was still alive and hinted that he never would have abandoned her, had he known she existed. Which begged the question, why did he abandon her?

One morning, while I was up at the library, Leaf stopped by. We talked about the lack of magic and what it had been doing to everyone here. She told me to follow her, and she led me into a small room at the end of the library. There was a chair and a desk in one corner, but what shocked me more was the wall to the side of the desk. It was covered with research about spells.

“I’m trying to reverse it. But I haven’t figured out how yet. There is so much I still don’t know about the spell that took everyone’s magic.”

I looked at her with big eyes, before I walked over to the wall and moved my fingers over the notes.

Leaf went quiet. Then put her finger up in the air, as to tell me to stay there before she walked out. I followed her to the outside.

“Someones here,” she said as she waved her hand. All the other people disappeared, and the house looked abandoned once more.

We stood there a while until I could make out two people walking towards us. It was hard to see who it may be, but they seemed to be teenagers like me. When they got closer, I realised it was Luna and Star. I ran towards them as I heard Leaf shout something to me, but I didn’t listen.

As I neared them, Luna must have realised that it was me, as she too started to run. We embraced in a hug when we reached each other. 

“I can’t believe that you are here,” Luna told me with tears in her eyes.

“I can’t believe that you found this place.”

I was happy to have my friend back. Even though I hadn’t known her for long, I had felt an instant connection to her when we first met on the stairs to the temple.

After a while, Star and Leaf had caught up to us. I looked over at Leaf 

“This is Luna and Star, her twin sister. Luna lost her magic at the same time I did.”

Leaf walked over to them. “Star, you still have your magic, is that correct?”

Star looked around uncomfortably before answering.

 “Yes, I was not chosen to be sacrificed. But my magic is not as strong as it used to be. Something happened to it when Luna lost her magic.”

Luna coughed. It seemed to take a lot out of her. Star touched her shoulder and Luna recovered from the coughing fit.

“I don’t know what is going on, but we got shown this place in a dream,” Star said.

I gave Leaf a look, I had thought only people that lost their magic had the dream.

“Let’s go inside and talk. It is getting dark and I’m sure you will feel better after some food and some warmth.”

I was so happy to have Luna back in my life. I hooked my arm in hers and followed Leaf into the house.

After we had sat down. I looked at Luna more carefully and realised that her already pale skin looked almost translucid. She had black bags under her eyes. Her twin sister looked to be in better shape, but her bright green eyes seemed listless. Star caught me looking.

“It’s been like this since the ceremony. She is only getting worse. Me being near her seems to make it better. I don’t know what to do. I can’t lose her, she’s my second half.” 

Star grabbed Luna’s hand and I could see the tears falling from her eyes.

Leaf had been silent, but she finally spoke up. 

“It seems that your magic is connected, maybe because of your twin bond. I would have to look into it more, but I think Luna is slowly draining your magic. It is my belief that if we don’t break the bond between you, both of you are going to die.”

Luna and Star looked at each other with wide eyes. Luna puts her other hand on top of Star’s hand. 

“It’s okay, Star. I want you to live.” 

“But I can’t lose you.”

Leaf gets up from the table. “I am going to leave you two to think over what I just told you. We can talk more about it in the morning.”

The other people kept their distance, which was fine by me. We stayed up all night talking about what had happened to them since I last saw them. They told me that my mother had sought them out and asked about me. It was hard for me to hear this, as I never considered that possibility. 

I hadn’t meant to just abandon my family without a goodbye, but when I got here, something told me I had to stay. In all honesty, I thought my family wouldn’t even realise that I was missing, so it warmed my heart a bit. Maybe my family did love me after all.

Despite everything, Star refused to let Leaf break the twin bond apart. Luna had good days and bad days. I divided my attention between spending time with Luna and Star and being in the library doing research and trying to figure out a way to break the spell that had been cast on us. If only we could have access to the actual spell, it would have made things easier, and maybe we would be able to break it.

A year and a half later Luna passed away in her sleep. Star was beside herself, but she too had been on bed rest of the last week leading up to Luna’s death. A few days after Luna’s funeral, Star seemed to have recovered. She was up and walking again. Her appearance looked healthier, and she seemed to have all her lost magic back. 

She sought me and Leaf out one morning. Her eyes were sad, but she had a determined look on her face.

“Leaf, thank you for everything you have done for me and Luna. I can not thank you enough, however there is nothing left for me here to stay for, and my parents need to know the truth.”

Leaf gave her a hug. “You’re always welcome here.”

“Thank you. I want to make sure this never happens to anyone ever again. Now that I know the truth, that your dad won’t come and destroy us. I need to get people to realise that they are all getting fooled.”

“Here, take this.” Leaf handed her a stone. “This way you can keep me updated. I am not opposed to fighting. I just want to make sure we have a chance to win before we plan for something like that. We are but a few.”

“I know several people that do not agree with the high priestess, even before all of this. Let me find them and spread the word. Together we can change it. I am ready to fight,” Star said, before she gave me a quick hug and walked away.

I wasn’t sure I would ever see her again, however, hearing her and Leafs exchange had made me determine. No other people should have to die because of what the high priestess and Hecate did to us.

I jumped into my studies again, full force. Finding a cure wasn’t the only reason. Being busy helped me to cope with the loss of losing Luna better. She had been my best friend. She had liked me for me. It had not bothered her that I was socially awkward or that I was quiet and preferred my books. A few days before she passed away, she made me promise to be more outspoken, and say what’s on my mind, like she had. It was a promise I was planning on keeping.

The days went on and I spent my time between studying spells and talking to Leaf. She had become a good friend and mentor.