The Straight and Narrow Might be a Long Shot

As Andy accuses him of putting words in her mouth, the boy mumbles a reply that has her gaze suddenly snapping over to him. In her pale gaze rests the unvoiced question of why he keeps trying to paint himself as such a bad guy. While she does not know Aresenn very well, the purple girl would be willing to bet that there is a kind heart that beats underneath all his bluster and guff. Still, there is something in his simple, mumbled reply that strikes the girl straight in the heart and she suddenly wishes that he wasn’t so certain that, one day, he would be the villain in his story.

The conversation moves on, with Aresenn stating the ‘reason’ he is here and she gives a simple, yet unbelieving, reply. Humor lingers in her eyes and the lines of her face as he adopts his devil-may-care half-smirk and her heart suddenly leaps into her throat as she realizes just how handsome the boy is. If he wasn’t so dead set on turning evil, the girl could see herself spending a lot more time with him. As Andy gives her reasons for being down here, he asks about her star charts and the girl’s eyes brighten and she softly replies, “I chart them so others may use them to travel with. But, honestly, I do it because I just enjoy it.”

Andy tilts her chin back, turning her pale blue eyes up to the overcast sky and a dreamy look settles over her features. In her mind’s eye, she can see the night sky with the thousands upon thousands of stars shining like diamonds in the inky darkness of nighttime as the silver goddess crests the horizon to begin her nightly journey. Voice still soft and now, faraway, the girl explains, “I… never really felt like I fit in with my family. Don’t get me wrong, I love them dearly. It’s just… I have always felt older than the meager year of life I have. But, when I look up there, it just feels… right.”

It is as if a dam has burst in the girl and the resulting cascade of information reveals more about herself than she realizes. Brows lift slowly as sadness begins to tug her heart and a strange sense of homesickness settles into her stomach while she continues to talk, “They have names, you know. And stories given to them by generations now long dead. Every time I look at them, I feel this… irresistible tug. As if, learning about those cosmic beings brings me closer to them.” As if the spell she was under has suddenly been broken, the girl’s eyes widen and she snaps her attention back down to Aresenn. That information she has kept from her own family and yet, here she is, giving it freely to the boy she hardly knows.

Brushing off the trance of mere seconds before, she strides forward, turning in front of him to direct Aresenn to the Aspen studded area that rests close by. His narrowed eyes and amused words have Andy huffing indignity and rolling her eyes as she quickly replies, “I am not just a Princess, Aresenn.” While it is true that has been her title within the pack, the girl feels that she is so much more than only a Princess. As they begin to walk, the girl settles into a leisurely stroll while making sure to keep the boy beside with her.

His request for her name has the girl stopping in her tracks to cast a long look at him. For a moment, her gaze is intense, weighing and judging something that only she seems to understand. If he really is going down such a dark path, why should she offer her name? She believes that names have some hidden power and yet, he already has her last name. Plus, the girl really has been wishing to share her name with him. What harm can come from it? A gentle smile breaks across her face like the sun appearing after a long, dark night.

Her gaze softens as well and she drops into the half-bow, half-curtsy that her father had instilled in her for formally greeting others. While dipping her head down, the girl confidently offers, “Andromeda Fatalis, Princess and Trader of the Armada but really, a stargazer at heart.” Most of it was the introduction her father had taught her with the girl adding in the last bit just for Aresenn. Straightening up, the girl looks at him with a gentleness that she has yet to show and adds more softly, “But you can call me Andy. Everyone else seems to.” Well, there it was. She had given her name to the boy and, if she continues to believe the books she spent hours upon hours reading, their fates are now forever tied together. Okay, so maybe Andy enjoys fairytales too.

With that, she begins to walk again.


"Andromeda Fatalis"