Mischief in the Stars

The Village

"Where did the others go?" Rory asked, not stopping to turn to whoever was still with her. She turned into an alley, getting far away from the house. She tried to stick close to the walls in order to stay out of sight. She ducked under a few pieces of clothes drying from a string. Rory glanced around, unsure of what to do. She wasn't sure where to start with this all. This sounded a lot simpler in her head.

"As you suggested, we all split up. You're stuck with me, princess," Malakai told her, causing her to stop in confusion. She stared at him in bewilderment.

"Why did you stay with me?" she quipped, shaking her head at him.

"Because I wanted to," he admitted simply, pushing by her roughly as he made his way through the alley.

Rory scoffed bitterly before she stuck her hand out and grabbed his arm. She yanked him back towards her with a bitter laugh. "No, you don't get to do that. You can't just be a jerk to me one second, and then be protective over me the next. That little act of attacking Eliphas? What's your goal here? Finally fallen for my charms?"

"We don't have time to talk about how we feel, Rory!" he snapped at her, yanking his arm back to his side.

"Kai-" she slipped, not realizing what she had called him until he interrupted her.

"Don't call me that," Malakai barked out, a deadly expression on his face. She rolled her eyes at his anger towards something as small as a nickname. He stopped walking just before the end of the alley, leaning out slightly to check if the coast was clear.

"Wait, where's Aliya? The other amicordas?" Rory asked him, just now remembering the amicordas weren't present.

"I think they're in the woods right now, they'll probably come back if we need them," Malakai informed her quickly, not turning to face her.

"Anyone on broomsticks out there?" Rory joked before wincing immediately after, realizing it wouldn't make any sense to him. She made a mental note to stop referencing things from Earth, considering they had rarely translated the same way here.

"Why the Maloid would there be people on broomsticks?" he questioned incredulously with wide eyes.

"Forget it," she breathed out tiredly, stepping out from behind Malakai. She saw a small group of people heading into a house, and she quickly followed them. Glancing back towards Malakai, he nodded slightly in silent agreement.

They hastily pushed the people into the home, slamming the door shut behind them. Malakai lifted his hands and put a shield on the door to be safe. He turned back around, staring into the eyes of a frightened family. "Don't be afraid, we're not here to hurt you."

"We've heard that before," a young girl who didn't look to be over the age of twelve retorted sharply. She stood in front of her family, making Malakai smirk slightly at her bravery. She glared at him, her arms spread out in front of who he assumed to be a mother, father, and older brother.

"We promise, okay? I give you my word. We're not from your village. My name is Rory, and I'm from Fantamia. We saw your village and thought we could help," Rory tried to explain, wishing she had already thought of a spiel beforehand.

"I recognize you, princess," the mother spat in disgust, "you're royalty."

"I would go into why that's a very complicated 'not really,' but we don't have time, and this isn't about me. We want to help you guys, please let us," Rory pleaded, and when the family stays quiet, she took this as an invitation to keep speaking. "Do any of you have powers?"

"Why would we tell you if we did? For all we know you're with them," the father accused callously. Rory groaned into her hands, understanding their resistance but resenting it all the same.