Freeing Starr

Being with Zion for as long as I did, I always felt like time was moving at a slow pace. I didn’t know if it was because of how much I anticipated getting through another day unscathed or if it was my anxiety of something else going wrong but whatever it was, it was gone now. Time was moving at a fast pace and as I continued training and making preparations, the day before the big event finally arrived.

I was drowning in nerves.

“Did we set the flowers right?” I asked Stacia as I busied myself with scanning the ballroom that was decorated splendidly for my mating ceremony.

I loved every single piece of decor and I thanked Stacia constantly for helping me set everything up. I wouldn’t have been able to finish everything in time if it weren’t for her and Leona’s help.

Stacia, who was speaking on the phone with goddess knew who glanced at me casually, “everything is perfect, love. You’re just looking at it too long.”

“Really?” I sighed in relief, tapping my pen against the notepad in my hand, “maybe I should go take a breather.”

“You need it,” Leona muttered, slipping up behind me to peer onto my notepad, “is everything accounted for?”

I nodded, “yup, we have everything.”

She took the notepad from my hand and flipped a page, “Great, your dress is also finished. Remember to be up by eight am. That gives us four hours to get you . First is the greeting of the guests and then we'll start the ceremony by twelve pm, finish by 2pm, take family photos, then have the reception and end everything by six pm to give you and Leon time to... settle down in your room."

My face heated as I nodded along, “got it. By the way, did you invite Michael and Alex like I asked?”

“Yes, they said they’ll be here.”

“Great, perfect. I can’t imagine how uncomfortable they’ve been since they settled down here. Everything must be so unfamiliar to them. It’d be nice if I could check in and see how they’re doing.”

“They seemed to be doing pretty well. Leon asked to keep us posted to make sure that they settled in alright. He figured they meant a lot to you since you brought them along.”

My heart warmed at that and I smiled, “We aren’t necessarily close but they helped me out when I needed them so I’m just returning the favor.”

“Alright,” Stacia clapped her hands as she pocketed her phone in the pocket of her dress, “That was your brother. Him and my parents should be arriving back by tomorrow. Barely in time to attend the ceremony. I should lock him out when he’s here.”

Leona sighed, “you’re just going to spark another argument with grandma at that rate.”

Stacia huffed, “who told her to take my son away from me? Then she brings him back here late for his own brother’s mating ceremony. Just see what I do to the prideful witch. As a matter of fact, let’s make it so she falls into the river when she arrives,” Stacia’s eyes lit up in excitement at the idea.

I furrowed my brows in confusion and leaned over to whisper to Leona, “Isn’t that her mother she’s talking about?”

Leona grimaced, “they’re not on the best of terms. Their personalities just don’t clash. Grandma is prideful, strict and a die hard perfectionist but mom is the complete opposite. She’s not as strict as grandma and she’s caring and honest. She’s like a free spirit and grandma’s the cage that wants to keep her from roaming. Or that’s the way she sees it at least. You’ll know more when you meet her. My brother chose to leave with them because he wanted to leave the kingdom and explore. My grandparents were the only reason he was allowed to leave. Since they wanted to travel a bit as well, their plans aligned perfectly and my brother grabbed onto their legs. My mother didn’t quite like that he chose grandma over her so their relationship took an even bigger dive.”

“Exactly! Because how dare he choose that woman over his own mother? Haven’t I made the castle fun enough to live in? Then he goes off and abandons me. Just wait until I see him again! Mother who? I only have two kids!” Stacia argued.

I covered my mouth as I giggled, finding her adorable as she huffed and puffed in her frustration.

Leona chuckled, “you’re in for a treat.”

A knock sounded at the door and Leona and I looked over curiously as Leondro walked into the ballroom. He glanced around at all the pretty decorations and nodded his approval, “you guys did a good job with this place.”

Stacia’s behavior did a complete 360 and she pouted as her large doe like eyes stared pitifully at her mate as she went and fell into his arms, “honey, I’m in distress.”

Leondro raised an eyebrow as he looked down at her, his eyes twinkling with mirth. It was clear that she was only acting but he indulged in it anyway and my heart weakened at the sight.

“Why? Who hurt you and where are they so I can kill them?” Leondro asked, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close to lean down and run his nose along her neck.

Leona rolled her eyes and looked away, muttering, “here we go again.”

“I just came off the phone with your son who’s going to be late to his own brother’s mating ceremony. The one that abandoned me for that woman.”

Leondro chuckled and placed a kiss against her neck, ”our son is still young. He doesn’t know what’s best for him so give him a bit of slack.”

Stacia immediately flared up again, “exactly! He doesn’t know the horrors that woman has put me through! That’s why we should reveal it when he comes back.”

Leondro grimaced, “I wouldn’t go that far...”

Stacia narrowed her eyes at him, “Are you choosing her side as well?”

He shook his head and bent to peck her lips with a helpless smile, “I’m always on your side, love... but upsetting my mother-in-law is not on the list of things I want to do.”

Stacia huffed and pulled out of his arms, waving a dismissive hand, “it’s all the same with you men. All talk but no bite. Useless, useless, useless. I’ll handle the witch myself if I have to. Thank you for no...” she trailed off as her eyes clouded over.

I knew instantly that they were mind-linking each other and I watched on with slight envy as Stacia flushed a bright red and shyly glanced back at Leondro who watched her with a raised eyebrow. I could tell that whatever was said was definitely not for us to hear.

Leondro cleared his throat and turned to me, causing me to stiffen as I instantly felt his strong presence. This was my first time directly interacting with the man. Even at dinner, he never spoke unless spoken to and most the times simply discussed the Kingdom’s affairs with Leon. His presence threatened me. I didn’t know if it was because he was the former king or if it was because his mere presence alone just reeked of dominance without him having to do anything.

“I actually came here because I wanted to speak with you, if that’s alright.”

“Me?” My voice came out a bit high pitched and I cringed and cleared my throat. There was no reason for me to be nervous.

Leondro nodded and gestured towards the door that led to the royal garden, “walk with me?”

I nodded and hurriedly trailed behind him as he went through the door.

I glanced back at Leona who simply shrugged in response, then at Stacia who had a dreamy look on her face. I doubt she even registered that I was leaving with her mate.

“It’s alright, you can be at ease with me,” Leondro muttered as I caught up to him.

That didn’t help my unease in the slightest but I nodded my head nonetheless.

“I heard that my son is currently training you per your request?”

I nodded, “that’s right. Is there something wrong?”

He shook his head, “there’s nothing wrong with it. I’m glad that you’re willing to get stronger for the sake of the kingdom...”

Silence ensured as we walked for a bit in awkward silence. I mustered up the courage to ask, “what did you want to speak about?”

Leondro sighed as his conflicted eyes glanced across at me, “I wanted to know where you stand... I’ve heard about your past... I don’t mean anything by bringing it up. I’m not looking down on you or anything... it’s just that...”

I smiled gratefully at him trying to carefully speak around me, “I know. It’s alright. You can speak freely.”

He sighed in relief, “right. So, I know that you’ve been through a lot but I want to know if you’re truly here for this life or if this is just an escape for you. I have always looked out for this kingdom’s best interest... however, I’m not King anymore and that role has shifted to my son. What I’m trying to focus on right now is my family but there are still some times that I find myself getting involved with the Kingdom’s affairs. It’s an old habit of mine.”

I nodded along as he continued talking, “we haven’t been able to properly talk since you’ve arrived so I only know of your character through Cia. I wanted to make sure you knew what you were getting yourself into and the restrictions that you’d have to face. I heard from Leon that you wanted to travel.”

I hesitated, “yes, I did mention that it was one of my goals in life.”

He nodded in understanding, “you do understand that once you become Queen Luna, you won’t be able to travel as freely as you wanted, right? Everywhere you go, you’ll be accompanied by bodyguards for your protection and your actions will be limited as a member of the royal family. Your main responsibility will be to this kingdom and its people. Your second to the royal bloodline and your mate. The third is whatever you make of it within reason and consideration for the kingdom. Taking this step is not a step to your freedom, Starr. Being a part of the royal family is another shackle placed on your life. I’m not saying this to scare you, but I want you to understand that if you chose this to escape your past then you shouldn’t marry my son. I know he didn’t tell you any of this. Whatever promise he made, he probably did it out of desperation so that you wouldn’t leave him. So I’m telling you in his stead. The minute you walk down that aisle tomorrow is the minute you sign your life away to the throne until you step down from it. Are you willing?”

I remained silent as I mulled over everything that he said. It’s not like I didn’t know what came with being a royalty. I felt like everyone was trying to warn me from making this decision but I couldn’t see myself doing anything else. If it wasn’t for Leon, I’d still be stuck living a miserable life. Traveling wouldn’t even have been on the table. So no matter what anyone said, my answer would always remain the same.

“I’m willing. I give my life to this family and most of all, I give my life to Leon.”

A smile stretched across Leondro’s face, “So the rumors are true. You have a strong spirit, Starr. Don’t let anyone shatter it, not even my son.”

I nodded then asked, “is he doing alright? I feel like he’s holding himself back whenever we’re together.”

Leondro glanced at me and chuckled, “Leon? He’s probably holding himself back like hell right now. I know my son. He has a very assertive personality but ever since you came, he’s been very docile. It’s actually amusing to see.”

I asked hesitantly, “So how do I get him to show his true self?”

Leondro shrugged, “that’s very simple. Become assertive yourself.”

Become assertive yourself.

A thoughtful look blanketed my eyes as Leondro bid goodbye and left me to my thoughts. That night, when I walked into my bedroom, I found a journal laying on my vanity table with a small note next to it.

I hope this diary stores your thoughts well, until you’re willing to share them with me. Sweet dreams.

~Leon

A smile brightened my face as I hugged my new diary to my chest and collapsed onto the bed, my heart blooming. This happiness... I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I quickly took a shower and settled down, taking up a pen and opening the diary to begin documenting.

Dear Diary

It’s been a while. There’s so much I want to tell you yet words can’t describe how happy I am right now. How thankful I am for making the choice that I did that day. Sometimes I think to myself, if I had chosen to accept Nadia and stayed in that pack that day, I’d have never met Leon, my soulmate. Things have been moving really slow with us but I plan to change that after we’re fully mated. I don’t want to live in the past. It’s not fair for him or this kingdom but most of all, it’s not fair for me. I deserve this happiness after everything I’ve been through. I wish I could just look up at the sky and scream my lungs out at the moon goddess for having me go through all of that. However, there’s no time to wallow or pity myself. My mating ceremony is tomorrow and as much as I can’t wait for it to happen, I’m also anxious for my future. My future was always bleak but now there’s a strong possibility that I’ll come out of it happy and I thank the world for that. After this ceremony, the real fun begins. I’ll keep you posted.

~Starr.

And with that said, I closed the diary and locked it away in the drawer on my vanity table. Then I cuddled into my blankets, heart racing in anticipation for my second mating ceremony. I hoped that it’d be my last.

As the moon quietly floated across the sky, the sun followed close behind and soon enough, morning had arrived.

It was the day of my mating ceremony.