Starry:

How is any of this possible? Where are we going, and why me? As these thoughts swirl in my head, I steal small glances at her beautiful new appearance. Selene sat there, her legs moving up and down in a rocking motion, in tune with the song she hummed to herself. The humming stopped momentarily, and her midnight purple eyes peered to the side, catching me staring.

"Something catches your eye?" she asked, winking playfully just before opening her mouth again. I got lost looking at her. She seemed even more beautiful than before. "You are the prince in all those stories the archivist told me... We should go see him!"

"Who's that?" I asked, my voice shaky from the new experience and new sights.

Selene stood and held the guard rails just as the brakes screeched on the tracks. "I'll show you in a few moments." The train pulled into a station, and the doors opened. Selene stepped out first, then helped me out of the train. I took her hand as my legs turned limp trying to take my first step. I looked around in awe as the weightlessness made me float trying to walk.

Behind me was a sight I never thought I'd see—the Earth from the moon. Stars surrounded us, making where we stood look like a painting, a place of mystery and magic she had shown us.

"Welcome to the place I go to escape it all." she said, smiling. Her voice lowered to a whisper. "Not many people know..." Her whisper dropped even lower. She winked revealing her lilac eyes. "Even people I love and trust don't know about this. As I said, you're special, Starry. I can feel it and see it. So believe it."

She pulled me upwards as I floated in the weightlessness of the moon. A small pit formed in my stomach as she slowly rose with me before falling. The feeling was like a drop on a rollercoaster. "Just hold my hand, alright?"

"Alright, lead the way, Selene." She took another step, her wedding dress hovering in weightlessness. My boots landed on the moon's dusty surface. The light from Earth lit up the moon's surface, casting a glow over everything. In the distance, shadows of buildings stood, run down and abandoned, as if people had once lived here.

Selene followed my gaze, frowning slightly, but then she held my hips and took my hand, leading me into a slow dance. Her movements were soft and graceful as we danced across the moon. "You know, whenever the moon is brighter, it means the moon goddess is happy."

I laughed at her words, copying her movements. "That's just a fairy tale parents tell their kids so they'll go to sleep." But she shook her head and lifted my chin so our eyes met again.

"It's not. I'll show you what you seem to have forgotten long ago."

"Come on, little prince, you must step like this." Then, I turned and saw a ballroom. It was just me and her dancing alone. I looked down at my short legs, standing on her feet as she was teaching me how to dance. She stopped and held me up, placing me on a table. The woman's kind laughter echoes throughout the room. Picking flower petals out of my hair. "You're not as tall as the other flowers, but destined for great things."

She guided me out of the ballroom and into a flower garden. "See, this is how I created you—from a small little flower like the other knights. A little bit of love, a touch of moonlight, and infused with the power of the stars. You, however, never fully bloomed. You were born during a lunar eclipse, so you're not as powerful as the other knights, but that's okay. You're my little prince."

I turned back as my vision returned, ending with her smile ingrained in my mind as we kept dancing, our movements in sync. Watching her red wine hair dance in the wind and her dress rise and fall, I didn't want this moment to end.

Selene led me by the hand into a courtyard, entering a palace in the middle of the moon. Flowers bloomed everywhere, whispering as if talking to themselves, but I couldn't understand them. I'd seen this place before, but where? A hooded figure stood in the courtyard's center, and we approached them. Their face was hidden in the darkness of a lavender cape. A smile crept onto this mysterious person's lips as they approached, bowing while holding their slim stomach.

"Oh, my goddess, welcome back." They made a heart with their hands and knelt. "As for you, my flower." They bowed, then rose again.

Selene stepped forward, excitement written all over her face, before nudging me forward. I felt their gaze as they studied my body, from my boots to my constellation-adorned cape, to my ruby eyes and snow-white hair. They seemed intrigued as their smile grew slightly.

"Oh, my flower; please sit. All will be explained. Please sit as I tell you the bedtime story of the moon." The figure guided us to a small table and poured us tea. "Your time here is limited, so I shall explain..."

I am the archivist. I've lived for millennia, watching and telling tales of the moon from one generation to the next. You, dear Selene, are the moon goddess—the reincarnation of the goddess. Before creating the moon kingdom, you played among the stars, making and watching life grow across distant galaxies.

Long before Earth existed, the moon was created by you. It was barren and dusty as your loneliness grew. You made life from the stars, and men and women thrived with your blood flowing through their veins. Your people loved and cherished you. For thousands of years, your moon kingdom thrived under your rule.

Then, one day, a lone red rose bloomed—this is where Starry comes in. Born differently due to the Earth's light not reaching your bud, and an incident causing you to be smaller than the other flower knights. You were the smallest rose knight.

Everyone teased you for being too small, but despite your size, you wandered every day and watched the moon goddess create new stars and life.

The archivist stopped, smiling as they raised one hand to Earth before chuckling. "Oh dear, it seems this is all the time we have. The dark side approaches."

"What does that mean..." In an instant, a wave of drowsiness hit me, and I collapsed. Before everything went black, I saw Selene. I reached for her, but then everything went dark.

Everything feels so cold now...

Selene:

I started to shiver. My body was so cold, and thoughts swirled in my head. I gradually woke up, patting the snow off my puffy coat and adjusting my hair. That was a beautiful story. I watched my wedding dress disappear, revealing the same clothes I had worn before.

It felt like I was on cloud nine for a few moments. I lay on the fluffy snow, taking a deep breath with a gentle smile. My cheeks were flushed from the cold.

Moon goddess, Flower knights... Starry. Starry! My heart raced as I searched for him on the snow-covered sidewalk, brushing away the snow that piled up.

A buzzing sound came from the snow. Starry lay unconscious, his appearance had returned to normal. His cape disappeared into the cold winter air. I rushed over to check his heartbeat and frosty cheeks. I rolled him onto his side. He's still alive, thank goodness. His cheeks were so cold, and his heartbeat was slowing. He was asleep. I heard the buzzing again, this time coming from his pocket. The caller ID read: Mia.

I grabbed his phone and answered.

"Hello, this is Selene."