A Quest for the Stars

It was a cold evening during the month of Injigo.

A shadowy figure waded across the deep snow up a quiet hill somewhere in a farm in Thule. A feminine hand stretched outward to maintain balance while the other remained concealed inside the tattered cloak. Quick breaths were expelled regularly, their rhythm picking up the higher she climbed.

Patience, the woman reminded herself. She had to hurry, but she also had to conserve her energy for the trek back home.

Arriving at the doorstep of a rundown cabin, the woman grabbed on to the wooden railing of the porch steps and exposed her other hand to put down a basket by the door. She placed a gentle hand inside, caressing the fragile head of a baby boy. The little one slept peacefully in its temporary crib, unaware of the cruel circumstances surrounding his arrival.

"My Alistair. My sweet little Alistair..." Tears sprinkled the wooden porch beneath the mysterious woman. "The locals say that this family has been trying to have more children with little success. They...they'll take care of you better than I ever could."

Smooching the boy's forehead, the woman placed a small sack next to the basket that jingled with coins when she set it down along with an envelope inside the basket. The winds had been peaceful lately, but she wedged the envelope inside a gap just to be safe.

"You're an Adams, no matter what. I love you, Al." The woman gasped when a candlelight flickered inside the cabin. Saddened her time ran out, she dashed down the hill and into the nearby woods. She nearly collapsed from her aching muscles and shortness of breath but mustered the strength to keep her breathing under control when the cabin door opened.

"WHO'S OUT THERE?" A human male with lanky arms rushed outside and jabbed his pitchfork aimlessly. "I TOLD YOU THIEVES YOU AIN'T GETTIN' AWAY WITH MY PIGS AGAIN!"

"Janus, look!" The tender voice of a woman came from the doorway. The man turned around and finally noticed the babe left in his doorstep. "A baby..."

Janus groaned in annoyance. "You been talkin' to Carol again? You know she's been spreadin' rumors about me, right?"

"You know she's only trying to help with our situation, darling." The woman reached for the baby but stopped herself when she noticed the sack. She opened it and gasped. "Oh, my goodness." She picked up the sack with one hand. "This must have the baby's weight in gold!"

Janus snatched the sack away from the woman and grinned from ear to ear after shaking it once. "Hot dog! I guess having an extra mouth to feed ain't a big deal."

The woman picked up the basket holding the boy, who slept peacefully throughout the commotion. "Look," she said as she grabbed the envelope. "There must be a note in there." She tore the envelope open and held the note with one hand as she read it. "Oh, Janus, some poor girl had to run away from home and doesn't have the experience to raise the baby on her own. Can we really keep it?"

"As long as you clothe him and feed him. Shoot, he got a name?"

"The note says his name is Alistair." She nuzzled the sleeping baby. "Alistair Adams, a gift from the angels themselves!"

***

8 years later

Alistair grew up as the sole child of Janus and Lynn Pierce. No one but his stepparents knew of his circumstances, so Alistair remained oblivious of how he came to join the Pierce family. But they always treated him and loved him as their son, through the good times and bad.

At least that's what he told himself.

The young child ran home after working at a neighboring farm. He had saved up enough to buy a new book, Tales of the Tavern, which he picked up from the bookstore on his way. Farmer Bill paid the boy a decent amount that day, enough to get him any book he wanted while still having plenty left over for the week's expenses. He made sure not to linger in the bookstore, for it would soon be dark, and forced his weary body to run up the road on the hill once he went on his way.

"Excuse me, which is the way to Europa?"

Alistair heard the voice of a young girl on his way there, which gave him pause. She was a pale girl, with long white hair and blue eyes. She was taller than Alistair, but just by a couple of inches. Alistair was at an age where girls were at the back of his mind, so being the boy he was, he simply gave her the directions to the nearest settlement, Europa, and went on his way. The young girl thanked him with both a word and a smile and moved on as well.

Twilight had arrived by the time Alistair made it to the porch of his home. Sitting on a rocking chair was his father, Janus Pierce. The bottle was rarely absent from the calloused hands of the farmer, and he had built a reputation as a lazy and sterile loser. He would often blame his wife for not being able to have children and for not watering the crops right, and according to him that's the reason they were always hungry.

Despite his flaws, Alistair knew his father worked hard, and always pitied him even from a young age. Al always made an effort to bond with him, and had hoped he could do so tonight as well. "Papa, I'm back. Look, I bought a new book."

"Another one?" Janus scowled after taking another sip. "What you should be doing is stop reading them books and fetch me another bottle, you little turd!"

The bottle broke just inches away from Alistair's feet. The boy flinched from his father's sudden throw, and instinctively shielded himself with the book he just bought. Janus rose from his chair and snatched a purse from Alistair's waist before the boy could do anything else. Weighing the small purse with the palm of his hand, Janus's scowl remained as he counted the silver pieces inside.

"Boy, what did I tell you about slacking off? This is way less than last week! Did Bill catch you hiding and reading your books again?"

"N-no, sir..."

"Don't lie to me, boy!"

The rest of the evening went on as normal. Concerned neighbors would ask Alistair the next day if it was he who screamed all afternoon and all night, but he denied it. He also denied getting stripped and forced to sit on the shallow river as punishment for something he did, those were just nasty rumors from gossipmongers who didn't mind their own business.

At least that's what he told everyone.

***

1st of Injigo, 5pm, 1654

It was Alistair's fourteenth birthday, and he was just about to wrap up his work day. He spent hours making deliveries on foot on the nearby village of Europa, an icy port settlement that never let a little cold stop them from living their daily lives. Alistair worked at Elmer's General Goods Store and would make deliveries without fail when he wasn't sweeping the store.

Pay day just so happened to be on his birthday, so he had plans to spend some of his earnings on a small chocolate cupcake he spotted at the local bakery. But dread came over him when Elmer called him to his office.

"Alistair, your daddy came here a couple of hours ago. Is it true that you're underage?"

Europa was one of the more progressive settlements in the Eastern Province, and no one under 16 years of age was allowed to work anywhere except in family-owned businesses. At the urgings of his family, Alistair had kept his age a secret, so hearing the old man seated across from him inquiring about it now was like a punch to the gut. "Y-yes, sir."

"I can't keep you, then. It's against the law, and I don't want the king's men coming down on me or my shop. You're fired."

"Please, sir," Alistair begged, "I'm the only one at home working right now! Without this job, I'm not sure we can survive the rest of the winter!"

"Hey, now. You're still getting paid for this week. As a matter of fact, your daddy picked up your earnings for you when he got here."

"What?! Why?!"

"Why else? He's your guardian and since you're only fourteen, you legally can't pick up your own earnings."

"But he's a no-good drunk," Alistair suddenly shouted. "He's just going to spend all that money in the tavern!"

Elmer laughed. "What? No one is that irresponsible around here."

"Then you obviously haven't known him long enough!" Wasting little time, Alistair grabbed his brown winter coat and dashed out of the store. Anything he may have left behind was of little importance now, and he had to rush home before his father could spend any of the money.

He checked the local tavern, The Smiling Huntsman, but none of the patrons had seen his father all day.

Alistair checked the gambling parlor, only to meet the same result.

Alistair asked any homeless person he could find, but all they could tell him was that his father had been searching for storage containers all day.

The young boy even asked the pretty women who would stand on different street corners at different points during the day. Surely, they must have seen something after all the time they spend outside.

"Sorry, hon. We haven't seen him all day. But if you do see him, tell Janus he still owes me three gold pieces."

Alistair didn't know why his father would owe them money, but he promised to pass on the message.

After two hours of searching, Alistair only had one place left: his own house. He made his way towards the village outskirts and took the trail back home. Sitting on the front porch as always was his father with a bottle on hand. The boy didn't recognize the brand on the bottle, and only vaguely recalled the image of a grape he'd seen painted on expensive bottles he had seen noblemen carry around.

"About time you brought your ass home, boy," his father said after taking a swig of wine. "Where the hell have you been?"

"I've been looking for you, dad," Alistair answered politely.

"Don't give me that. You know I'm always here." The older man scowled after staring Al up and down. "Where's your payment? Weren't you supposed to get paid today?"

Alistair didn't think Elmer would lie about what happened to his money, so his father must have been playing dumb. The question was why. "Elmer said you picked it up, and that you told him I was too young to work."

Janus stifled a laugh. "I didn't think the old man was going to snitch on me. Now I'm going to feel bad for what I'm about to do."

Janus rose from the porch steps and went to the side of the house to search for something. It was dark out, but Al noticed the front door has been left open. His irises shrank once they had adjusted to the darkness, and his lower jaw quivered at sight of what had happened inside.

His mother Lynn has been beaten to death. Her corpse lied on a pool of dried blood. He was too stunned to move or say anything, and when Janus returned, he looked like he had forgotten to do something.

"Oh, right. That," the older man casually said. "Guess that makes me a wanted man, huh?"

"Mom..." His face stained with tears, Alistair could barely hold it together. "W-what happened?"

"Hey, I had my reasons. The bitch cheated on me. Right after I came back from collecting your gold, she came at me with a surprise. 'Good news,' she called them. She said she had seen the doctor, and the doctor told her she was having a baby."

"A baby? M-mom was pregnant?"

"Can you believe the audacity? There's no way that was my kid." Janus took another swig of wine and broke the bottle after tossing it to the side of the house.

Judging by the time frame, Janus must have gone straight home after collecting Alistair's pay. If Alistair had done the same after his shift, instead of searching the village for his father, he could have prevented this tragedy. Now his mother was gone, along with a brother or sister too good for this broken home.

"How...how could you? Mom would never hurt us!"

"You still believe she's your mom?" Janus scratched his head. "Or maybe neither of us told you the truth."

"The truth?"

"I've been sterile all my life, boy. You're not some miracle baby like your mom said. There's no way she could have ever gotten pregnant from me, so it stands to reason she cheated on me. That's why she's dead!"

His spirit wavering, Alistair could barely stay standing. "W-what are you saying?"

"What else? You're not my real son, and Lynn wasn't your real mom. Some dumb girl dumped you here because she was too young to raise you. She must have been some rich girl, because she gave us enough money to last us for years. Too bad I spent the last of it by the time you were old enough to work."

"I was adopted..." Alistair's childhood finally made sense to him. Lynn showed him affection, but Janus never treated him like a son. And now it turned out neither of them were his real parents, and his real mother left him with them. Why couldn't he stay with her? Why was he instead sent to live with a cruel father?

Angered by this revelation and the murder that had taken place, the smaller Alistair took his father by surprise by tackling him to the ground. Years of frustration and abuse surfaced with Alistair's tears. "Murderer!"

"Get off of me, boy!"

"How could you?! After everything I've gone through, how could you kill her?! I worked hard because you refused to find a job and mom was too weak to stay at a job for long!"

Anger and rage can blind anyone from danger, no matter how obvious. A blunt metal object struck Alistair on the head, courtesy of Janus, with enough force to remove him from his mother's murderer. Yes, Lynn may not have been his real mother, but she nurtured him like he was her own son.

Janus gripped his steel pipe firmly while Alistair cried on the ground. This was the object he had gone to fetch earlier and kept it out of Alistair's sight until now. "You're nothing without me, boy. And you're never going to be anything. With your money, and a little extra that I came across, I can finally leave the farm life for good! I have a getaway driver not far from here, so I can't stick around for long."

The older man dragged the steel pipe as he approached Alistair. The boy was too hurt to move, keeping both hands on his injured head.

"I'll start a new life elsewhere! I'll find some pretty little thing who doesn't know any better and make her my wife! I'll get more kids! I'll make this money grow so I don't have to work a day in my life!" Janus raised the steel pipe above his head. "You tried to avenge a whore that isn't even your own flesh and blood? If you love her so much, WHY DON'T YOU GO JOIN HER, THEN?!"

Alistair braced himself for what could be his last moment in the world. He was sad, scared, angry; his father had done so much to earn his anger, yet he was too weak to fight him. With a groan of defeat, Alistair closed his eyes and hoped to see his mother the next time he opened them.

"AAAAHHHH!"

Alistair didn't see what happened. He assumed his dad just shouted a war cry and expected to be bludgeoned with the steel object.

But nothing came. In fact, the air had started to feel a little warmer. He didn't know what had happened until he finally reopened his eyes: Janus had been burnt to death with something. His burning corpse lied prone just a couple of feet from him. His screams had only lasted for an instant until there was nothing but silence and the sound of cackling fires.

By instinct, he turned around and spotted someone in the other side of the fence. Wearing a simple white gown was the silver-haired girl he met years ago. Steam rose and left from her extended hand, which more than likely fired a spell just now.

"Are you okay," the girl asked.

"Y-yeah," said the young boy. "I've seen you before, I think. Who are you?"

"I'm Mirabelle Bisset," answered the young girl.