Astra blinked as she tried to follow my story. “Do you mean a marmesou? You tried to shove a marmesou into your purse? Why?”
I played with a button on my mini dress. “Because I thought it would look cute. I even made it a comfy little bed. See?” Astra glanced into my purse. She wore a flowing Vegonian concoction which made her look like a giant pink ball of cotton candy. She even had a matching pink bow in her hair made of lace. Horrid.
Astra’s eyes widened. “You were going to use mom’s silk Hermès scarf as a marmesou bed? Are you feeling all right?”
I plopped onto her bed. “I felt fine until stupid Julian showed up and ruined my whole day. He was awful, and horribly disfigured, by the way.”
She laughed. “Julian? I know him. He's not disfigured. He’s handsome.”
I folded my arms across my chest. “He has a giant scar and bad teeth.”
“He does not. You’re mad because he foiled your plans. Marmesou are wild creatures. They can’t stand confinement, which is why they’re allowed to run free here. It makes them happy.”
I scowled at her. She took the awful Julian’s side, and it made me angry. But I realized I could use this whole situation to my advantage.
“Astra,” I said in my sweetest voice.
Astra tilted her head to one side and eyed me warily. I guess she wondered why my mood had gone from angry to angelic so quickly. She might suspect I was bipolar if I wasn’t careful. I cleared my throat.
“I’m going to ask Mom and Dad if I can go back to Earth.”
Astra turned away from me to face her mirror. She sat at her vanity, a pink monstrosity with gilt accents. Her whole room was pink and gold, and mine looked exactly like hers, except it was gold and white. Both took the princess theme way too far.
“I thought you understood, Starr,” she said as she powdered her nose and put on the barest hint of lipstick. “We can’t go back to Earth.”
I stood behind her chair, silently willing her to understand. “I’m planning to hop aboard the next transport ship. Captain Augustus is going to Earth in a few weeks to pick up more refugees, and I want to go with him.”
Astra’s eyes met mine in the mirror. “But you’d have to turn around and come straight back.”
I shook my head. “I’m going to stay there.”
Astra turned around and looked at me in shock. “There aren’t going to be any other ships. You’d be stuck there. You could never come back to Vega.”
“I don’t want to come back. I hate it here.” Tears rolled down my cheeks. I wasn’t wearing waterproof mascara, and I didn’t even care. I reached into my purse to grab my cell phone. It always comforted me to have my phone in my hand, but I’d left it in my room this morning. Another thing to hate about Vega. No cell phone reception.
Astra took my hands in hers. “You don’t mean it. You’ve only been here a few days. You have to give it a chance. If you go back, we’ll never, ever see you again.”
Astra cried too, but since she didn’t wear mascara, it was like watching glittering little diamonds fall down her cheeks. I resembled a member of the old rock band Kiss when I cried. Not an attractive look for me.
“I’ve made my decision and I have to tell Mom and Dad. Will you help me?”
Astra stared at me a long time before she shook her head. “No.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m too selfish. I could never watch you go away forever.”
I held her hands tightly in mine. “You’re the least selfish person I know, Astra Valentine. You’ll help me. I know you will.”
“No, Starr. I will not. You’re on your own.”
I set up an appointment to see my parents the same afternoon. Astra refused to accompany me. I’d thought I could cajole her, and I tried, but she’d meant what she said, and she would not budge. I truly was on my own.
This was how things had become in our family. I had to make appointments to see my parents and my sister didn’t support me. I knew Astra thought she was doing the right thing. I also knew my parents were super busy with having to adjust to running an entire planet, but I was in the midst of an emotional crisis. I needed my parents. I needed my big sister too.
Unfortunately, when I stepped into the reception room, I realized Julian sat there with them, laughing about something with my father. I stumbled as I walked closer, wondering what they discussed and hoping Julian hadn’t shared my marmesou adventure with them. It would be embarrassing, but at this point, I was used to shame and humiliation.
I’d thought we’d be alone, so I’d put on pink sweats with the word “juicy” printed across my bottom. They were the most comfortable things I owned, but I hardly ever wore them outside. I’d pulled my hair into a messy bun, thrown on a hoodie, and wiped every last vestige of makeup from my face. I’d cried most of it off in Astra’s room anyway and didn’t see the point in reapplying it. My face felt puffy. My eyes were red-rimmed. In other words, I did not look my best.
As soon as Julian glanced up at me, I gave him my best stink-eye stare. The throne room was enormous and full of marble and gilt, like all the other rooms in the palace. I had to walk quite a way while maintaining my angry expression. By the time I reached Julian and my parents, the sound of my flip-flops echoing through the vast, cavernous hall, they all looked at me strangely.
“Is something wrong with your eyes, dear?” asked my mother, her voice full of concern.
I shook my head. “No, Mama. I’m fine.” I gave her an angelic smile.
“Starr, this is Julian, Duke of Celesta. His father, Gabriel, was one of my dearest and oldest friends,” my father said, choking up. “He valiantly gave his life for our cause.”
Julian turned to me and made a low, elegant bow. It was almost identical to the one he’d given me in the palace garden only hours before, right after calling me an idiot. Twice.
“Enchanted,” he said, a mischievous twinkle in his dark eyes. Apparently, he hadn’t told my parents about our first meeting.
“Nice to meet you.” I turned immediately back to my parents. My mother sat on a throne made of marble. Birds and other creatures, including a few marmesou, were carved into the sides of the chair and highlighted with gilt. The room was shiny white marble and gold, and an entire wall made of windows faced the garden. A beautiful place, but only for people extremely fond of marble and ostentatious carving. I was not.
“Can I speak with the two of you? Alone?”
“Starr,” my father said, horrified at my rudeness. Julian smiled. He wore a white military-style uniform with epaulets and tons of gold medals. He matched the room perfectly.
“I shall take my leave.” He reached for my hand. I thought he might shake it, but he surprised me by leaning over it and kissing the back. The touch of his mouth against my skin sent shivers up my spine.
Obviously, I needed to get out more. I barely knew Julian, but I already hated him, which meant I shouldn’t be enjoying this contact so much. I snatched my hand away like I’d been burned, causing him to look at me curiously.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to be rude, but I have to talk to my parents. Urgently.” My cheeks grew hot, another anomaly. Astra blushed when she was happy, sad, hot, cold, angry, or excited. I only blushed with a great deal of help from Estée Lauder. So why was I blushing in front of stupid Julian?
He didn’t seem fazed by my attitude or my burning cheeks. In fact, I thought I saw him try to suppress a smile.
“I understand, Princess Starr. Until we meet again.” His dark eyes caught mine for only a second, then he bowed one more time and left the room.
“Starr, how could you behave so rudely?” asked my father. He was as much a non-blusher as me, but his cheeks were getting ruddy. “Julian is one of the most powerful people on our planet, and you insulted him.”
Julian didn’t seem like a duke or an influential person. And, although annoying and arrogant, he hadn’t acted insulted in the least. My father saw things a little differently, however. S
ince he stared at me angrily and seemed to have elevated blood pressure at the moment, I thought I’d better answer him.
“I didn’t mean to be impolite, Daddy. I’m sorry.” I tilted my head and looked up at him with my eyes as big as possible and my lip quivering slightly. My best remorseful pose, and it always worked on him, but not this time.
“You should apologize to Julian, not to me.” He straightened the jacket of his uniform and went over to sit on a chair next to my mother. He looked stiff, and not at all like the father I thought I had wrapped around my little finger. My mother patted his arm, trying to get him to calm down.
“I need to talk to you.” I put my hands on my hips and tapped my toe in indignation.
Julian had been rude to me first, but I couldn’t even tell them so because I’d have to share the embarrassing story about the marmesou. I took a deep breath and tried to control my temper. Acting angry would get me nowhere.
“It’s important.” My voice shook, because I was kind of scared. I knew they weren’t going to like what I had to say, but I had no choice.
“What is it, Starr?” My mother’s perfectly arched eyebrows wrinkled in concern. I’d never noticed how lovely her eyebrows were before. She never plucked, but her brows were exactly the right shape to highlight her beautiful, dark eyes.
I cleared my throat and looked at my feet. My flip-flops, decorated with an assortment of rhinestone stars, matched the pink nail polish on my toes. I stared at the stars, trying to organize my thoughts. All I could come up with was I had cute feet.
“Starr?” asked my mom, looking impatient as well as concerned. I’d gotten distracted again — a common occurrence. My parents had me tested a few years ago for ADHD. Although I didn’t have it, I overheard the therapist murmur to my parents about “narcissistic tendencies” and “serious self-absorption,” but I couldn’t have cared less about what that awful little man said. He dressed entirely in beige and smelled funny.
I walked up to the throne, wringing my hands. There was no right way to do this, so I thought I should be blunt. “I want to go home.”
They both looked confused. “This is your home,” my father said.
I shook my head. “I want to go back to Earth. There’s another transport ship leaving in two weeks. I want to be on it.”
My father still looked perplexed, but I could tell my mother got it. Her eyes filled with tears.
“You want to go to Earth and never return to Vega?” she asked, her voice low. “You want to do this even though it would mean never seeing us again for the rest of your life?”
I kept my eyes locked on my pretty pink toes. I could barely see them through my tears. “Yes,” I said softly.
“No,” my father said, and my head snapped up at the tone of his voice. My darling father, who had always indulged my whims, looked at me like I was something dirty and alien that had crawled into his perfect Vegonian gilt and marble palace. “This is your home now. Deal with it.”
I turned to my mother, hoping for sympathy, but she shook her head. “I’m sorry, but your father is right. Vega is your home now.”
When I opened my mouth to protest, my father held up his hand. He acted so sad and disappointed, it made me cry even harder. He wouldn’t even look at my face.
“We’ve spoiled you far too long, but it will stop now. You will stay in Vega, you will learn what it means to be a proper Vegonian, and you will stop acting like a silly, pampered child.”
I stared at their faces, realizing neither intended to budge on this subject. I also realized neither one of them had asked or cared about my reasons for wanting to return to Earth. They sat on their marble throne on their marble dais, and although they were right in front of me, they felt as far away to me as Earth to Vega.
For the first time in my life, my parents didn’t have a moment for me. For the first time in my life, I’d made my mother cry. It was also the first time in my life my father had seemed truly angry with me, and I knew no amount of cajoling or sweet smiles would win this argument.
I ran into the garden, tears flowing down my cheeks as the marmesou screamed in the trees above me. I fingered the chain from Adrian’s necklace, hidden beneath my shirt. I didn’t know where he lived, but I knew he was too far away to help.
I felt powerless. Helpless. Alone. But even if it meant giving up my family and Maya and Adrian, I was not going to stay on Vega. I would find a way to go home, and I had less than two weeks to do it.
Six
“It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock.” William Shakespeare’s Othello
The next day I put on my favorite edgy black t-shirt. It had skulls and hearts on it and made me feel tougher for some reason. Also it suited my mood. Today was not the kind of day for anything in the pastel palette. Not by a long shot.
I planned to find Captain Augustus and figure out a way to coax the shuttle departure time from him. I didn’t know how to do this exactly, but so far, Vegonians had not only been exceedingly helpful but also open and honest. They didn’t seem to comprehend deception, and I happened to be a master at manipulation. Captain Augustus would be putty in my hands…if I could only find him.
I shut the door to my bedroom, and was about to head out, when I noticed a tall, dark, and annoying person heading in my direction: Julian, the Duke of Celesta. I thought about making a mad dash back into my bedroom, but he’d already spotted me, and I knew he’d find it hilarious if I attempted to hide from him. In no mood to give him entertainment of any sort, I decided to stand my ground and face him.
“Do you live here or something?” I didn’t bother trying to hide my irritation as I flicked my hair over my shoulder. I wore my favorite yoga pants and had on running shoes in case I needed to walk farther than expected. Julian studied my outfit curiously.
“Is there some sort of meaning behind your garb?”
He referred to the giant skull adorning my shirt. It had a snake coming out of its mouth with a sparkly pink tongue. Even wearing black, I still needed a bit of bling and a pop of color.
“It’s cute.”
“Do you speak in earnest?” Julian rocked back on his heels and raised his eyebrows, his hands folded behind his back. I glared at him.
“It’s edgy cute,” I explained, but I could tell he didn’t get it. A cultural chasm existed between us a mile wide. I walked down the hall, hoping he would get the hint and leave. Instead, he joined me, his long-legged strides matching my own.
“In answer to your previous question—I do not live here. I have a palace nearby, where I currently abide. I came to see you.”
His words stopped me in my tracks. “Why?”
Julian cleared his throat. “I understand thou art unhappy here. I am most sorry.”
“What is it to you? You think I’m an idiot.” I folded my arms across my chest, wondering who had told him I was unhappy and also wondering why he cared.
“I…” When Julian stopped speaking, I looked up at him curiously. He ran one hand through his dark, wavy hair, making it look all mussed and sexy. “Our parents were friends, and I would like to be friends too. If there is anything I can do to make things easier for you here, please let me know.”
He was about to do the elegant bowing and disappearing thing again, but I stopped him. “There is something you could help me with.” I bit my lip. “Tell me where I can find Captain Augustus.”
Julian’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly. “Why would thou wish to find Captain Augustus?”
I felt another blush coming on and tried to control it, looking at my hands, so I didn’t have to look at Julian. “I wanted to thank him for what he did for us on the trip here. I didn’t have a chance before.”
Julian waited a long moment before answering me. “Thou art being surprisingly considerate. I will take you to him.”
Julian led me through the bustling metropolis of Celesta. He pointed out his palace, only a few blocks away from our own. This was the first time I’d walked through the city.
I looked around in amazement as Julian took me past a colorful open-air market, elegant shops, and sidewalk cafes. He bought rolls which were like croissants filled with chocolate, and we munched them as we walked through the town.
“This is what I always imagined Paris must be like,” I said as we stopped for a few minutes next to a river. Artists with easels painted landscapes and portraits near the water. It reminded me of photos I’d seen of the Seine.
“Paris?”
“The most beautiful city on Earth.” I licked a glob of chocolate off the corner of my mouth. “Although I’ve never actually seen it.”
Julian wiped my face with a napkin he had stashed in his pocket. He didn’t have a drop of chocolate on his face or anywhere else. I wouldn’t have lasted two minutes in a white uniform without staining it with something.
“How do you know it is beautiful?” he asked.
“I’ve seen pictures. It’s a center for fashion and culture and art on my planet.”
“Like Celesta,” he said, with a smile.
I stared around me. It looked a bit like Paris, but it wasn’t Paris. Celesta was all marble and glass, and the women hardly seemed chic. They were dumpy and wore tacky clothing. Although I was the only decent dresser I’d seen so far, the people here stared at me strangely as we walked by and whispered about my clothing and my hair. They thought I couldn’t hear, but I did, and it felt awful. Their comments weren’t mean, but they weren’t complimentary, either, and I’d grown almost numb to it at this point.
My shoulders sagged. If I didn’t find a way to make it back on the shuttle, I’d never have a chance to see Earth again. I’d never be pretty again, or visit Paris, and I’d spend my whole life wondering if it indeed was as fantastic as it seemed, but I’d never know.
“Thou art sad.” A gentle breeze blew through Julian’s hair and made the tassels on his epaulets move slightly on his shoulders. He looked sorry for me. I’m sure he heard the comments as well, and it was utterly humiliating, but I decided to answer him honestly.
Starr Valentine Page 4
