The Stellar Souls
Chapter 1 - Dear Kai
Shhh.
The delicate winds hushed, their soothing voices barely above a whisper.
It was the final day of August in the year two-thousand and four when a storm flew into the tiny village of Triclover, Switzerland. A shower of rain pelted down upon the few hundred homes that housed Triclover's meager population of one-thousand.
Despite the rush of the winds and the drip drop of the rain, the town was dead quiet.
Not much of a surprise, considering the fact that Triclover is known for one thing and one thing only — its silence.
The decade old cobblestone streets look much younger because hardly any cars drive upon them. The only sound anyone hears from the roads are the careful tap tap tap of feet or the light hum of a bicycle. And, every now and then, the far off moo of an anxious cow.
And the people of Triclover mostly keep to themselves.
Besides being peaceful and providing some of the purest air on Earth, Triclover doesn't have much on its plate to offer.
There aren't any spectacular sights to see or buildings that tower above all others. The academic rate is just average, the restaurants just average, the holiday festivities just average.
And the people?
Well, they're average, too.
Most citizens in Triclover have lived in the small village for all their lives. There hardly is a soul who moves in or out of Triclover.
And the town most certainly does not have any visitors.
So, on August thirty-first at eight in the evening, everyone was inside, either falling asleep or typing away at their keyboard in hopes of finishing their day's work.
Towards the beginning of the day, falling from the sky were water droplets that hit the empty roads like light kisses being planted on a lover's cheeks. But as the night rolled in, the heavens opened up and the water fell in torrents from the gray clouds.
In the distance, thunder roared deafeningly across the sky like an alpha lion.
The citizens were particularly surprised by the change in weather. That is because the people of Triclover simply aren't used to change.
So naturally, every single person retreated into their modest homes like ants returning to their hill.
That is, all except one.
This peculiar woman, who wore a dirtied wool sweater, torn jeans, and a pair of ragged sneakers, continued to wander through the rain with an infant clutched close to her body. A small silver necklace bounced lightly on her chest, occasionally brushing against the baby's soft cheeks.
If the residents of Triclover had been more aware of their surroundings, they might have noticed that, as they passed the woman by on the street, her dark hair, tattered clothes, and worn-out shoes all remained crisp and dry, even as she stood in the middle of a developing thunderstorm. It was as if the rain was somehow being manipulated to fall around her rather than on her.
And while the woman was hurrying along the smooth sidewalk, she turned her head back numerous times, as if fearing a shadow.
The expression on her face displayed nothing but fear. Her eyes were wide open and cloudy. Her bone-thin hands trembled as she held the baby, who was bundled in a number of thin blankets like a cocoon.
The woman knew that the harsh weather served as a warning.
Because nothing good ever happened to her during a storm.
She quickened her pace, even though the muscles in her legs screamed at her to slow down.
"I'm sorry, child," she mumbled softly to the baby. Her voice trembled. "But I have to do this... Or else it will find us."
She fought the piercing pain and continued to limp along the streets. As she walked by each house, her feet gradually grew heavier and heavier.
It wasn't just the pain that was slowing her down anymore. It was what she was about to do.
She turned corner after corner, walking down street after street, until she came across one of the biggest houses in all of Triclover. It was composed of three stories and a dozen windows, each one illuminated and shining brightly as a beacon to her tired eyes.
The woman began to walk up to the house.
She stopped just a few yards from the door. Her feet were now completely glued to the ground. She was frozen, unable to move. Her mind urged her to continue forward, but every muscle in her resisted.
She looked down at her baby in panic. She had to calm herself, she had to.
His little hazel eyes glowed with a golden light as he looked right back at her. He brought his tiny hands in front of his face, smiling and giggling.
Immediately, the woman took a huge sigh of relief. She loved him more than anything --- he was the only thing in the world that could make her happy.
The woman then looked up and found herself staring into one of the windows. She could see the rough reflection of her destroyed figure. Her dark hair, once long and wavy and healthy, was unevenly chopped at shoulder length and consisted of nothing but rough split ends. Her tanned skin was covered in an infinite amount of bruises and scratches. Her cheeks were as hollow as a pipe and her small ribs poked through her baggy clothes. And her once beautiful dark blue eyes were now nothing but cloudy, as if a thunderstorm like the one brewing overhead had permanently decided to inhabit the inside of her irises.
It was clear that the woman in the reflection was once a beautiful and lively girl. But something had changed that. She was now a haunted woman who had a constant darkness shadowing her, one that she would never be able to rid herself of.
She'd spent months and months with the poor infant in her thin, bony arms. It felt like home to have him at her side at all times.
Her entire body froze, leaving her trapped in ice, refusing to let her move another inch. She couldn't stop staring down at her little boy. His dark hair was messily sprawled across his forehead, his glowing eyes were wide open and locked in a gaze, his wondrous smile was slowly spreading across his peachy face. Even at such a young age, he looked exactly like her. Except for the eyes, of course.
She was barely even twenty, but she'd been through enough trauma for a dozen lifetimes.
Her body was shriveled and weak, yet the outside didn't even account for a fraction of what was screaming within her.
Soon, her feet failed her. She slowly descended down towards the ground, and just before her knees landed in a muddy puddle, the water spread out and formed a dry ring around her.
Despite the magical act, she began to cry heavily, unable to control the deep sobs that escaped her lungs.
Her parents were dead. Her siblings were dead. Her closest friends were dead.
And her lover?
He was definitely dead. Those horrid, cruel monsters had torn up his insides until there was absolutely nothing left of him.
She wanted so badly to scream. Everyone she'd ever loved was gone, either dead or worse.
The little boy in her arms was the only living being left in this world that she loved.
She gazed down at him and brought a shaking hand up to his head, lightly brushing the top of his hair as if his scalp was as delicate as an ice sheet. She heaved him up so her lips were lined with his forehead, then lightly kissed him near his hairline. And as she did, a slight magical spark ignited, causing a single strand on the top of his forehead to turn a shade of precious silver, shimmering like the stars.
The woman stared at this magical act for a moment. But looking at him became more and more painful by the second, so she pried her eyes away from his beautiful face, shook her head, then quickly stood up.
She rushed to the door as fast as she could and lightly rapped on the smooth dark wood.
A heartbeat later, an elderly lady answered the door. She had extravagant white streaks in her shoulder-length grey hair, and her light vibrant eyes shone with such energy, it looked as if the whole sun was sparkling within them.
"Oh! Well, what a surprise to see you!" The elderly woman smiled, speaking English in a thick Swiss accent.
But her smile soon faded as she saw her friend's puffy red eyes, sunken cheeks, dirtied clothes, and the broken expression on her face.
But before anyone could do anything else, the younger woman cried, "Please keep him safe."
She shoved the baby into the old woman's arms. She then spun around faster than a tornado, ready to run off for good. But she jerked to a stop, her trashed sneakers squeaking on the pavement. She reached a hand up to her collarbone, yanked the silver necklace above her head, and quickly placed it onto her baby.
She then bolted, running and running until she faded away like a bird in the night.
~~~~~
The elderly lady shouted after the woman. She raced out of the house, trying her best to follow her.
But she knew what that girl was capable of. And she sure as heck knew that her aged legs would never be able to catch up to her. Besides, she knew this would happen soon. She'd avoided it for as long as she could, but the horrid time had finally come.
The girl was gone. Now, her child only remained, in her arms, bundled up in blankets and shrieking like his life depended on it.
She sighed, cradling the child in her arms, holding him as tightly as possible.
Suddenly, she heard the crinkle of paper against her chest.
She pulled the baby back and saw a folded piece of paper inside his blankets, right underneath the beautiful silver necklace on his chest.
She raced inside and set the little boy on her couch. She pulled out the piece of folded paper. There were two words written on the front in smeared black ink — Dear Kai.
She unfolded the paper and began to read, letting the tragic words sink into her aged skin. When she finished, her arms dropped to her sides. She stared out the living room window, the harsh rain singing a tragic song as it hit the glass pane.
She set the letter back down on the couch and lifted the child again, brushing the silver strand of hair out of his face. He was still shrieking and crying.
She held him tightly, mist in her eyes.
"I'm sorry, dear Kai," she whispered to him as he cried. "But she had to go. She had to save you."
~~~~~
Title: The Stellar Souls
Genre: Fantasy
Age Range: Middle school and up (11 and up)
Word Count: 1,833
Author Name: Kiko K. Prendergast
Why: This is just the first chapter/introduction of the first book in the Stellar Souls series. I started writing the very first rough draft of this book when I was 13, and I finally turned 16 about a month ago. Hopefully that's not a problem! Agh! The second chapter fast-forwards to 12 years later, when Kai is now a seventh grader in an American middle school. That day at swim practice, he gains the Gift of Water, and shortly after that he's kidnapped by people who turn out to be saving him. They explain that he is a Prædentia, a being who is able to gain multiple Gifts of Water, Fire, Ice, Light, Air, and the Earth. And then he's brought to their whole village where he learns a whole lot more. I'm about five chapters in, but I have a lot of other scattered scraps of chapters throughout all seven books of the series (I know that that's a lot and I'm really sorry for that) planned out, and I know exactly how it's going to end. That sounds so crazy, my bad!
The Hook: A woman and her baby are traveling along a small village in the middle of a developing thunderstorm. She knocks on the door of one of the houses where an elderly lady answers. Suddenly, the young woman shoves her baby into hands of this elder lady and bolts away.
Synopsis: (throughout the first book) Kai is abandoned by his Prædentia mother at a young age for reasons that are unknown. He lives in the human world for the first 12 years of his existence, unaware of who he really is, until he gains his first Gift --- the Gift of Water. Shortly after, he discovers Stellare, the most popular and influential village in all of the Prædentia world. One day, the Royal, an ancient and powerful Prædentia artifact, is stolen by someone within Stellare and given to the Maledentia, or Cursed Beings, who are the enemy of the Prædentia. Because of this traitor, Stellare is now in major danger. Unexpected and unwillingly, Kai and his friends turn out to be the ones who have to face this threat head-on. Together, they must discover where the Royal is, who the traitor is, and how they are going to protect all of the Prædentia world from the growing number of the dangerous Maledentia.
Target Audience: All ages, all genders, and pretty much all of the world.
Bio: My first name is really Kiley, but I go by my middle name Kiko. In Japanese, Kiko means, "rare child." And I really do think that's what describes me. Not trying to sound like I'm bragging in any way because I swear those are not the intentions, it literally just feels right (I don't know if that made it sound worse... Yikes). From my height to my personality to my hair to my abilities, I always feel like I don't quite blend in with the crowd. I'm five-foot-eight, at least three inches taller than everyone in my friend group. My hair literally is the size of Jupiter, reaches down to my hips, and legitimately looks like a lion's mane (hence my nickname: Keeks the Lion). I never wear make-up, and when I have to, it's the littlest amount acceptable. I don't follow fashion trends --- I just go to Goodwill and find stuff that is big and comfortable. I don't listen to the radio, either, so if you ask me what song is popular right now, I wouldn't have a clue. Compared to my friends, I literally know nothing about current events. And there are so many moments were I feel like a thirty-something-year-old trapped in a sixteen-year-old body. I know exactly what I want to do in life --- write! I've already come up with a seven-book-series that I will publish one day, and I think a great majority of the classes I have to take in high school are useless (to me, at least). If I do something even in the slightest bit mean, I have to apologize for it. Or else I feel bad for the rest of my life. That sounds pathetic, but I swear it's true. Some things I say very often are, "You can't be happy in life if you can't forgive," "I don't hate anyone," "You do you, girl," "You're a DING DONG," and most commonly, "I freaking love dogs." I also talk way. Too. Much. AKA this Bio right now. You see what I mean? Before this bio goes on for longer than Pi, let me sum up a few more things --- I live in Los Angeles, I love the beach and everything about it, I have a golden retriever named Dug, I love my obnoxious yet hilariously entertaining younger sister, my parents are the two most accepting, understanding, kind-hearted, generous people in the whole wide world, my best friend is my grandma (I'm literally at her house hanging out with her right now), my other best friend is my soul sister Olivia, I love traveling, I love taking photos, I love coffee, I love baking, I love babysitting (no joke), and I hope people can connect to my stories in some way, whether that be through the characters and their personalities, their character development, their experiences, the story line as a whole, or anything else that they may find somewhat interesting.
Platform: http://my.w.tt/UiNb/4VApAGx5uE
Education: About to be a Junior in High School. Sophomore year, I took a Creative Writing class as my elective. Not much, I know.
Experience: I've been writing creative stories since I was in elementary school. They weren't very good then, of course. But hopefully they are now!
Writing Style: I love many kinds of poetry (except for all that 18th century crazy old English stuff), spoken word poetry, and writing songs. But my heart definitely belongs to fantasy.
(Personality, Likes/Hobbies, Hometown, Age are all pretty much explained in the Bio, and I doubt anyone wants to hear me blabber further on about each of those categories since I seriously can't stop talking/typing once I start.)