The full moon cast a faint blue light on the moist cobblestone road that made up the boardwalk surrounding the Louisiana bay. A thick fog smothered everything, choking out the light from the street lamps. I hurried down the way, holding my umbrella firmly in one hand, a letter loosely in the other. My eyes cut through the fog--searching. If the blanket of gray coating the port town had been any thicker, I would not have ventured out. The news was urgent, however--the Lady Isabella needed to hear it. Yet I was frightened, so very frightened. Though outwardly human, I was in fact similar in appearance to what Lady Isabella’s lover was. Having been sent from the grotesque bones of the below world, Vuoto, I was unconditioned to such frailness. I felt exposed; no longer on of the black star-eating hounds of Levia; I was too easy to overpower. The message had to be delivered by someone, however. I, having been one of Grin’s greatest friends in Vuoto, had opted to go to the surface; climbing through the twisting black tunnels that snaked out of the below world.

I could still recall the feeling of dirt under my claws; the bubbles of panic rising in my chest as I lost my breath. The heat and blaze of the below world had faded away as the tunnels turned from dirt into carefully placed black tile work. The walls had been sleek with water. Glowing lichens hung from the ceiling, incandescent molds grew on the walls. A rattle, like a man’s dying breath, had filled them in a steady rhythm which had caused my fur to stand on end. Then I had emerged, changing immediately into the human form I had prepared; a male of average height with green eyes--lithe in form; capable of delivering a message whilst dodging the dangerous life occupying the above world.

I came upon the address I had been looking for. A short flight of wooden stairs led up to the front porch of the looming black body of the Foster mansion. I stood a moment, sticking my umbrella under my arm so I could hold the letter in both of my white, waxy hands. I breathed out once, the air rattling out of me in a slow shudder. The skin around my eyes peeled back to reveal the white rimming my green irises. I took a deep breath, trying to suck air into lungs weakened by their now smaller size. My legs shook, but I was able to get them under my control long enough to step up to the door.

I rapped on the red, wooden frame once before stepping back with the letter still held in both of my hands. I heard movement inside as someone, likely a maid, clambered down the grand staircase in the foyer of the house. There were voices, hushed murmurs behind the painted oak. I shifted uneasily on my feet. My heart throbbed in my chest; blood rushed in my ears. I ground my teeth as I forced myself to hold onto the letter--eying the door handle. Despite myself, when the wooden panel swung outward, I flinched. I had to take a moment to catch my balance again, as my heel had gone over the edge of the patio--for I had edged as far from the door as possible after I had knocked.

A woman stood in the door, a maid (as one of my tutors had called them. He had explained to me that they acted as slaves to those humans of higher rank in society.) I was unsure of how to act towards her at first. Half of my mind begged me to flee, while the other half instructed me to use what I had been taught. “Hello,” I managed in a less than impressive voice. “I am here with a message for the Lady Isabella Foster. May I speak to her?”

“I don’ know, suh,” the maid replied. “She warn’t expectin’ nobody. Why don’ ye com into da parlah suh? It’s a mighty cold night out ‘dere.” She stepped back away from the door so I could enter, which I did gratefully.

I took off my hat, placing it on the rack beside the door. The maid went on with her business, hurrying back up the stairs. I suspected she had gone to retrieve the Lady Isabella. Once she was out of view, I let out a long sigh. I had survived my first encounter with a human being without making it obvious that I was not of her kind. Still, a knot of panic twisted my stomach. The Lady Isabella would surely see right through my disguise. I had expected this from the beginning, but the weight of the issue was only now beginning to dawn on me.

To ease my mind, I took a look around the parlor. A large grand staircase with polished brass handrails stretched up to the second floor. Several picture frames on the wall held profile shots of what I assumed were family members. Above me was a large chandelier dripping with crystal which, though unlighted, held me in awe until I heard the footsteps of the maid descending the stairs.

“The Lady will see ye in de tea room, suh,” the maid informed me. She stood at attention as I brushed past, the whites of her eyes standing out against her dark skin. I gave her a nod as I passed into the tea room.

The pale green floral wallpaper cause any light cast into the room through the windows to take a strange hue, warping the colors of all other furnishings in the small space. The Lady Isabella sat on the far side of the rea room at a small, round, white table. A teapot with steam pouring out of its spout was at the center of the table. I eyed it, as the movement of the vapor escaping its encasement distracted me momentarily from my host. I quickly grew self-conscious of this, realizing that I was being rude. I allowed myself to become more enthralled by her appearance. Her curly brown hair was braided up with a few wisps falling to frame her delicate heart-shaped face. Soft brown eyes sat under thin brows, highlighted by a faint rosy tint to her cheeks. Her nose had a slight upturn to it, but was otherwise straight. Her lips were thin, but no cruelly so--upon them, a smile rested.

“Hello,” she began in a voice that was gentle, something which I had not been expecting despite her appearance, “I believe you have a message for me?”

I nodded mutely, handing the letter over to her. I watched as she cut it open with a letter opener, which she placed neatly on the table once she was finished with it. Before she began reading, she looked up at me, noticing I was still standing. “Oh, do have a seat,” she exclaimed. “You must have had a rough journey here from the below world, no? Sit, sit.”

I did as I was told, taking a seat across from her. I waited patiently until she finished reading the message and looked back up at me.

“So he is writing me through precarious means such as these now?” she asked, “sending letters through Vuoto? How interesting; I never assumed that he would bring information such as this straight through the territory of the enemy.” The Lady Isabella smiled, placing the letter daintily on the table before her. She then took up the kettle with both hands. While I watched, she poured us both tea before setting the bot back down in its original position.

“You know what this means, don’t you?” I asked.

Her near-black eyes snapped up to meet my stare. Uncomfortable, I turned my gaze away, looking for solace in some other, uninteresting part of the room.

“Yes,” she replied cooly, “I do.”

I swallowed, a clump of ice forming in my chest, making it difficult to breathe. This was the part I had dreaded; those leading the rebellion in Vuoto had always said that the anger of a human was nearly as bad (if not worse than) Abbadon’s. “He won’t be coming back,” I told her, “he has plans to...” I trailed off, unable to continue. I knew that Lady Isabella would have picked hints of Grin’s intentions out of the message. I questioned whether or not my stating the subtly put (yet highly implied) fact would be redundant. “He must die,” I told her, “he has trapped enough light within his body, but the only way to release it is through death.”

The Lady Isabella shut her eyes, sighing. “I had expected this,” she murmured. She then opened her eyes, staring at me hard with pursed lips. “Will he come here first? Did he say?”

“No ma’am,” I said sheepishly. “I was not given that information. The one which took the letter initially only gave me an address along with an idea of what I should say when I got here.” Having finished my part, I stared down at the cup of tea in front of me. I knew I could not drink without fear of melting my insides, for water acted as acid to star-eaters such as myself.

Lady Isabella, who had been gazing out the window, took notice of my staring into the contents of the teacup before me. “Oh, do forgive me!” she exclaimed. “I am so unused to having a star-eater under my roof!”

“I suppose it doesn’t help that I am not as waterproof as he became, either,” I mumbled.

She managed a sad laugh, reaching across the table to take one of my hands in both of hers. “Don’t fret; if you keep coming back, you’ll eventually develop an immunity to it as well.”

I could not meet her eyes, so I dropped my gaze to the tablecloth. “Are you asking me to come back?” I asked.

“I think it would be much safer if you did,” she replied. “The enemy forces below will have sensed you as you passed through their territory. I know you want to go home, but you should stay here for at least a little while before returning.”

I levelled my gaze with hers, “are you sure?” I asked. She gave me a nod, with initiated a sigh from me. I can’t say that I was exactly pleased with this arrangement, but what other choice did I have?


A week had passed before I was allowed to return to the below world. In that time, I had grown comfortable with the Lady Isabella. We took a walk in the garden the day before I left. Without thinking, I had broken the sounds of spring birds chirping at the feeders with a question about my employer. “What is he like? I have never met him.”

The Lady Isabella had smiled sadly, fixing me with her near-black gaze. “He was kind, much like you; he had an odd way of doing things too. It always had to be his way when it came to dealing with serious matters. It frustrated me sometimes, I will admit, but I know it was for the best.”

“Did you love him?” I knew it was rude of me to ask, but I felt inclined to know.

“I did,” her smile had grown sadder, but she still held herself with a strength that I found myself envious of.

I had fallen silent shortly after, thinking hard as we returned from the garden. As I prepared to leave the next day, I took another look around the Foster mansion. Traces of another of my kind became increasingly obvious the more I searched. I still could not get it into my mind that a star-eater had fallen in love with a human. Before I left, Lady Isabella had called me into the tearoom again. As we sat, she gave me instructions. When she was finished, I asked her a single question; “what did the letter say?”

She stared at me or a long time before returning her teacup to its saucer. “You are closer to freedom than you think,” she said. “I can’t tell you precisely what was in that letter--for your own safety of course.”

“So how will I know that it’s almost over?!” I cried.

“Simple,” she smiled, “there was a promise Grin made to me when he left. he said that he would do something very specific when he knew that the time was right.”

“May I ask what that was?” I inquired.

The Lady Isabella smiled sweetly, “look,” she whispered in what almost sounded like amazement. She held up her left hand so I could see. I leaned forward, my eyes huge with wonder. On her finger sad a sparkling golden ring, upon which sat a single stone, which glowed faintly with trapped starlight.



A month later, I learned of Grin’s death. Though I had never known him, meeting his lover had made him a bigger part of my life than I could have expected. I, like many others, attended his funeral. The King of Vuoto fell, allowing our forces to seize the capital of the below world. Though we had won, it had come at a price.

I continued to return to the above world to visit Lady Isabella. we chatted about the war, about life, about freedom. She has remained strong, something I am amazed at, for she has lost so much. But she has her human friends, her maids, her home. Soon, she will have another to remind her of Grin, a child.

She has asked me to help her raise him.