Among The Stars

Chapter 2

It has been an hour after we have taken off, and Mark and I have finally gotten into our suits after spending that hour admiring the galaxy that was before our very eyes. The suits were flexible, which made it very comfortable for us to move around.

"Your suit suits you well."

Mark complimented me, and I smiled at him.

"Thanks, you don't look bad yourself!"

I complimented him in return, and he proceeded to look alarmed.

"Oh dude, you're flirting. You're flirting..."

He comments, and I gave him a tight slap on his back.

"You never fail to get a chance to say this I swear."

I said as I rolled my eyes, and we both ended up laughing. 

"I see you two are really close, good! It's good to have strong bonds when you're young, even better if it stays for years. How long have you known each other for?"

Cyrus joined in our conversation, followed as we took our seats next to him. 

"I've known Y/N from the day my family adopted her. We grew up together."

Mark replied to Cyrus, and I nodded along.

"And you don't know who dropped her off with your family, correct?"

Cyrus asked, and Mark nodded.

"He doesn't remember how they looked like either, apparently they wore cloaks that had hoods to cover their faces. He did manage to see their faces a little bit though, especially since Mark was still a kid back then and he was short enough."

I added. Cyrus then took a deep breath.

"Alright. Y/N, I can only assume that those people who dropped you off were... your parents, because I really can't think of anyone else who would do such, so assuming that, I may know a reason why you were brought away from your home."

Cyrus said, and I felt nervous. The way he said it sounded... bad. Just simply bad, to the extent that it may change my mentality. But it's been years, I deserve to know what I need to know about myself, my own origins.

"What is it?"

I asked, inhaling sharply. Cyrus then nodded, and spoke.

"Many years ago, this galaxy that you know now wasn't quite the same. In the galaxy, there weren't 12 houses, but 13. Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces, and..."

Cyrus took another deep breath.

"And another house, Ophiucus, also known as the 'Serpent Bearer'. Some time before you were born, there was a disagreement of some sort. All the leaders of the houses were gathered together to discuss who would be able to hold the most powerful item in the galaxy, the 'Mystic Core'. Ophiuchus' leader kept insisting that he or she would hold it as the youngest and strongest of the 12 leaders, but all of them refused. So..."

Cyrus paused and shook his head before continuing.

"Ophiuchus' leader... called for war. For years, war broke out, the galaxy's moons were close to being completely depleted. Ophiuchus' leader was surely the strongest independently, but soon after their attack on Aquarius... they vanished. Days later, Ophiuchus then started to fall apart as no ruler was present to hold the house together. Rescue operations were carried out, and Ophiuchans had to evacuate and split themselves to the different houses. I suppose that you had to be separated from your parents during that period of time, so they chose to leave you over in Leo while they went over to another house. After the rescue, Ophiuchus was completely destroyed. I've heard that you can still see some parts of its ruins floating around where Ophiuchus used to be. Other than that, there's nothing else..."

Cyrus sighed, and my head was spinning.

My home was destroyed. My parents, I don't know where they are now. I've waited all my life for information about where I'm from, only to find out that it has been destroyed all because of its power-hungry leader. It wasn't fair, this didn't feel fair. Why did he have to leave? What did my family ever do to deserve unrest?

I bent forward, resting my elbows on my thighs with my hands on my head, as thoughts continued to flood my mind. Mark then came over to me, putting an arm around me to comfort me.

"Cyrus... is that all you know?"

Mark asked Cyrus, and he let out another sigh, nodding. I then looked back up at Cyrus.

"In every house we'll visit, there will surely be some people, or even better some of the leaders, who know more about this, right? There has got to be more to why the war happened other than some argument over power, and why Ophiuchus' leader suddenly vanished. There is no way no one knows more about this whole thing. This isn't fair at all..."

I asked, feeling my tears slowly filling the brim of my eyes. Cyrus' eyes then lit up, as a thought hit him.

"I did give you all I knew, but lucky for you, I do happen to know some people who may be able to tell you more of what you wish to know. I've heard from some of them that some of the leaders were awaiting your arrival in their houses, so I suppose they're willing to give you answers."

Your eyes widened at Cyrus' words, and you sat back up straight. 

"They're waiting for me? But how do they even know me?"

I asked, and Cyrus laughed.

"Haha! You're a curious one, question after question. I like it. Yes, they're waiting for you, and I suppose they know you because of your parents. I did also hear that your parents travelled a lot and they got along well with the leaders."

Cyrus answered your question, and a wide grin formed on your face. You wanted to ask Mark something, but you turned to see him fast asleep, still with his arm around you. You couldn't help but realise how cute and peaceful he was asleep.

"Heh, he's knocked out. Thanks again for letting us onboard Cyrus. No matter how painful it will be to know the truth about everything about myself and this galaxy, I'm still glad we came on as we are also fulfilling our childhood dream, to be travelling beyond the world we already know.

I said, and Cyrus gave a warm smile. He saluted me as a gesture to say 'your welcome', and I adjusted Mark's head to lean on my shoulder. Soon after, my eyes grew heavy and I fell asleep, leaning my head against Mark's, and as time passed, we started getting closer to our first destination.