The Goddess who Defied Fate

Prologue

July 6th. Shiro finished the last arrangement for tomorrow's Star Festival event at the planetarium and stepped out onto the balcony. The sky was cloudy. She hoped it would be clear by tomorrow evening, or there would be no point in hosting this event in the first place. Shiro sighed as she leaned her forearms on the top of the railing and looked up at the starless sky. Something caught her attention, glowing in the distance. She searched the skies for it. It didn't feel like a shooting star. Did she imagine it? Another dazzling light caught her eye. Her head snapped in the direction of the light. It seemed far away, but a big light was racing toward her.
Shiro gasped as a foreboding feeling settled in the pit of her stomach.

Shiro opened her eyes, greeted by the familiar sight of her apartment's ceiling. She groggily sat up.
"A meteor..." she mumbled to herself. She was still pretty out of it, but something felt... strange.
"That wasn't a meteor."
Shiro gasped. That voice... She slowly looked up and found herself in the presence of six males. "You guys... Why are you here?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Look, look, Dui! This is Earth!" The blonde shouted excitedly, ignoring her.
Dui groaned. "I can't believe we were actually exiled." Exiled? They were exiled? All six of them?
"Geez... I was praying up until the last minute that the kind was only joking..."
"That was naïve of you, Teo. You shouldn't hold out hope for mercy from the king, for your own sake." Shiro's eyes widened considerably at the sound of that voice as she slowly looked up at him. Why? Why now? Why here? Shiro swallowed with great difficulty and clenched her hand into a fist before it could instinctively reach out to him. Even as every fibre of her being was crying out to him. Shiro squeezed her eyes shut, only opening them when she heard the unpleasant click of a tongue.
"What a hovel. I don't need this irritation. I'm leaving."
"Scorpio, wait! Ichthys, let's follow him!" Dui said.
Ichthys snorted. "He reeeally doesn't want to have anything to do with humans." That damn king... Shiro bet he did this on purpose. He totally did. There was no way he wouldn't know where she was. This was no coincidence. Damn it all!

She'd be relieved if the other three didn't stay behind. They were the ones she wanted gone the most.
For now, Shiro opted to observe the situation.
"Scorpio still knows how to make his words sting. Some things never change..." That voice again. Shiro's lip quivered and she bit into it.
"Ignore him, Hue," Teorus said. Shiro gnashed her teeth.
"Of course I will. I don't have any interest in engaging him... Typical scorpion. I don't care how much of a hovel this place is; he should watch his tongue." Shiro almost laughed. He hasn't changed.
"You just said something pretty mean yourself, Hue."
Shiro's eyebrow twitched. "If you don't mind, please continue your conversation somewhere that isn't my home," she spoke up, her voice louder than before. She'd had just about all she could take. She wanted them out. Hue came over to her and looked her in the eyes. Her eyes widened when she saw his. He only had stars... in one eye...? Visibly shaken, Hue averted his eyes.
"Hue?" Teorus asked.
"It's nothing..." Hue answered quietly. Damn. It. All!
"Aww that's no way to treat a lady!" The male with the princely aura approached her. Shiro sighed as she looked up at Teorus. As soon as they made eye contact, his eyes widened. "You... You have stars in your eyes."
She looked to the side with a sarcastic and somewhat exasperated smile. Yeah, she knew. "What are you talking about?" Only one thing to do at this point: feign complete ignorance.
"Oh...?" Oh no, now he was joining the conversation. Will this nightmare never end? Fate certainly was cruel. Or maybe the fates were punishing her for abandoning them. Shiro watched as Leon moved languidly, walking up to her. "I see... So that means you're..." She arched an eyebrow.
"Leon, you're getting too close to her," Hue warned.
"Stars in her eyes? Now I'm interested," Leon smirked.
"Interested in what? Stars in my eyes? Are you delusional?"
"We're... gods. The gods who rule the stars... Does that ring a bell?" Teorus asked.
"It's called the Princes of the Stars..." Shiro muttered.
"Oh! Yeah, yeah! Like that!" Teorus exclaimed excitedly.
"Anyway... Please come with us... Actually, you must come with us. It's your destiny..." Hue said. She arched an eyebrow again.
"Do you really mean that?" she asked softly. Startled, Hue looked away from her, unwilling to answer. Figures... Shiro sighed. "Don't make me laugh." She scoffed.
"You don't believe us? But you just wished on a star!"
Shiro gave Teorus a flat look. "No, I didn't. Now if you don't mind, I have a million better things to do than listen to some lunatic's crazy talk. Hurry up and get out." She waved her hand in a shooing motion.
"You're only a human, yet you dare refuse the gods." Leon's eyes held overwhelming power that demanded to be obeyed.
"Get out of my face." She levelled a glare at him, unflinching.
"Refusing us was never an option... I'll personally make you understand. That shouldn't be so bad, hm?" Leon laughed condescendingly as his long fingers slowly traced a line down Shiro's cheek. Her eyes followed that finger with a frightening amount of scrutiny. "Don't be afraid."
"Wow. I never would've thought you'd touch a human, Leo," Teorus said, visibly surprised.
"This is just a little entertainment. It should be fun..." Leon said.
"Geez, what are you planning on doing?"
"I'm simply going to make her understand our power, that's all."