By: Sophie Ma

Elysian didn’t go out of her room for seven days. Seven days of staring blankly into the sky, at the twinkling stars that somehow stayed bright on the darkest of days. Somehow.

Her maiden, Eleanor, had begged her to come out. Just for a little bit, she had said. Eleanor had also pleaded with Elysian to eat something beyond the small bits of bread she had nibbled at. Eleanor had opened the windows and brought in a new vase of flowers, yet the room still felt dark and stuffy. Elysian thought she might suffocate in the room and yet it was too big at the same time.

Elysian had never had been very excited at the grand luxury of the palace, no she’d be content with a small cottage in the woods. Her sister, Leya, loved the large exquisite rooms and elegant long halls of the palace though. Had. Leya had loved the palace before she died. On the other side of the palace, so far away. All alone in the infirmary, along with the twenty other people who had died of the plague.

That morning, when the healer had come to her room and told Elysian the passing of her sister, she’d stood in shock, staring at nothing. Thinking about it made her chest tighten and her eyes water. Sometimes she still imagined Leya skipping into her room, playing with the warm flames that leaped across her fingers. Imagined her warm comforting magic, the only thing that made Elysian feel whole. Leya had been so different from Elysian, her warm amber eyes and brown hair completely opposite to Elysian’s own prismatic gray eyes and ash white-gray hair. If she squinted her eyes, she could still see Leya’s kind face and sweet eyes.

The thoughts of Leya haunted her, and yet were also her only tether to the world. The only thing that kept that cold blinding white fire down. Sometimes, when the outside world became unbearable, Elysian would burrow deep, deep, into her magic. It felt like a frigid cocoon gripping her. The icy fire was numbing and, in some ways, comforting.

Elysian blinked her eyes, lifting herself back into the real world. Back into her large room, sitting in front of the window, gazing at the stars. Through the glass, she could see the palace courtyard. Leya had skipped across those stones. Happy and lighthearted. And now she’s gone. She’d been taken to meet darkness, and yet Elysian’s hollow excuse for a person was left here. Alone.

A knock on her door made her slowly tilt her head to the door.

“Come in.” Elysian’s voice was raspy and slow. The door creaked open, and a tall girl with a sweeping pale white gown, honey brown hair, and sweet amber eyes stepped in. For a moment, Elysian thought her sister had come back, until she realized it was Raya. Crown princess to the kingdom, daughter of the Queen. Elysian tilted her head in a curt sign of respect.

“Hello, Elysian.” Her name sounded like honey on Raya’s lips. Elysian squinted her eyes. “I just wanted to see if you were alright. I know what happened to Leya.” Indeed, her eyes were sympathetic.

“I don’t need your pity.”

“I’m sure you don’t. But Leya was my friend.” Elysian looked down, surprised. She hadn’t known Raya very well; the bold fiery princess had always been pampered by her parents. But Leya had mentioned the princess’ small ember of magic, had mentioned talking with her. Elysian hadn’t realized they were such close friends.

“You knew her?” Her voice was quiet and soft, and suddenly she felt inferior. Elysian’s own gray nightgown and pale features were nothing to compare with Raya’s tan skin and pretty face.

“She was my friend and my teacher. Leya taught me about magic.” As if to show, Raya opened her palm and let little flames dance across it. “She said you had magic too, except not like this.” Elysian nodded slowly.

“I do.”

“Can I see?” Raya tilted her head, her bright eyes searing into Elysian like flames.

“You don’t want to.” Elysian looked away, curling her fingers in. She hadn’t touched her magic at all for the past days, too scared of what it might do.

“Please?” That face, that warm face that reminded her so much of Leya she couldn’t say no. Elysian scowled in defeat.

“Fine.” She let her fingers unfurl, let that blinding white magic flow out of her just a little. Icy flames skipped across her fingers, wrapping up her arm. Her magic felt cold and bright, like the fire stolen from stars and dipped in ice. Elysian had to fight for control, forcing the flames low.

“I’ve never seen flames like that.” Raya’s amber eyes stayed fixed on the white flames burning in my palms. “Are they cold?” Elysian nodded. She let out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding, and the fire disappeared.

“Can I stay? I want to see what your fire can do.” Raya moved closer to her, sitting down on one of the plush chairs.

“It’s not fire.” Oh, how she’d wished she had the warm golden flames her sister had wielded.

“You’re right. It’s almost like starfire.” Starfire. She’d never heard of it before, yet it sounded right.