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Carmen had been travelling all day. Hour after boring hour had passed, and still nothing to stem the boredom. She had ordered her servant to stop the carriage at an inn, set on the road just outside a village for travellers like herself. She planned to have alittle fun while still in this youthful form. She knew once she had the star she would have eternal youth, but what was the harm in spending alittle time becoming reaquainted with the life of the young. She waited for the servant to open the door, then stepped outside, looking about her. Night had fallen, and the sky was filled with twinkling stars, like smaller and dimmer versions of her soon-to-be meal. She grinned her wicked grin up at the sky, as if threatening to take down other stars, just for the power they held.

She gave her servant his orders, to take the carriage around to the stables and to get a room. She then headed inside, towards the bar area. It was musky inside the inn, the stench of on magical folk filling the air. Many eyes turned to look at the beautiful young woman who entered, and Carmen felt delight at the attention. She may have been a twisted and even crazed woman, but she was still a woman. She moved forward, her cloak dragging slightly on the ground as she moved, hugging to her slim frame. She couldn't believe how much energy she had. Even after riding in a carriage all day, she felt only a slight amount of exhaustion. Normally, without the star power, she would have been stiff and in need of a long rest.

She ordered a drink and leaned against the bar slightly, faking innocence to attract some poor, helpless soul. All she really wanted was alittle fun, though few there would be able to guess what that really meant. She was a cruel woman, after all, and what was fun for her was something that few others would likely find so fun. She saw the sneers and rather lustful looks from some very drunk men, and she grinned at them, though she forced herself to continue to look sweet and innocent.

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Current day

Thud thump thud thump grass pulled up from the ground as a strong steed made its way through a forested area. It seemed bent on speed and strength, raging forward as if it was in no inclination on stopping. It was almost mad on pushing onward as the very rider on it. Every so often he'd yell "hi'yah" to it, and pointed off with his reins in the directions he wanted to go. Oh how the foliage trembled under the mounting steed. Trees passed quickly, yes things moved on in a rush for him. But why was this man in such a rush? Obviously...'they' told him that he would have to get there soon before the star was plucked way from their dreams once more. However they really bade way no specific instructions on how to get there. So he and his mad steed made quick pace looking throughout the forested areas, looking, probing all the proximity on the outskirts of the kingdoms.

Ah if he did not find her soon, 'the others' would arrive. That was a frightening thought. Could he really pull off a disguise? Would they believe that he was Prince Ziren? Sure the Prince was a social man, but he got caught up in his studies that he hardly went away from the kingdom. Nobody probably knew exactly how he looked nowadays...right? And yeah as 'they' explained to him, nobody would really know what he looked like either, so he could just pull it off. If the heirs came across him, they would know him simply as Prince Ziner.

Ah still he couldn't help but worry about them looking at him, and trying to pry further into it all. Sure he looked close enough to the prince, he had black hair, strong build, and a nice clean cut shaved face... which he resented. Even more, he wore the Prince's outfit. His voice was even almost similar to the Ziner. If anything it was a perfect match, only someone from Icarnus would know the difference, heck not even half the people in Incarnus would know the difference really. So sure he could pull it off, there was no worries... "Kai, faster!" He yelled... no worries, yeah right, even if he got away with it, he was impersonating a Prince, he had plenty of worries. All he hoped right now was that he was in the right forsaken forest and that he would stumble upon a crater sooner or later.

Deep in the heart of a rather large and dense forest rested a crator. It had been caused by what most would describe as a ball of blue white flame, shooting through the sky and crashing to the earth. This would be a rather adiquate description. It was, in fact, a fallen star, thrown from its heavenly home by some very powerful magic. Now, alone and afraid, it lay in the center of the huge crator. However, this star did not appear as one might have pictured a star to be.

Deep in the crator, surrounded by a dense forest owned by nothing more than the creatures themselves, lay a helpless young woman. She was, for now, unconcious. It seemed odd to see such a fair maiden, lying in such a large bowl of earth. Yet there she lay, frail and fragile, yet untouched by the darkness of the world, at least for now.

As time passed, the light that had been shining about her began to fade, and she began to stir. First a soft moan and a slight fluttering of eyelids. Then, soon after, slight shifts of the body under the shimmering blue gown she wore. Blonde hair fell freely about her, framing her slim form. Finally, her eyes forced themselves open, and she awoke. It seemed a great task for her to force herself up, but she eventually managed, though she could not yet walk. She sat up, looking about her in slight confusion. What had just happened? She remembered very little, save something bright heading straight for her, then darkness had overcome her. She continued to look about her, until her her bright eyes rested on a sparkling jewel. It was a sapphire, placed on a beautiful silver chain. This was the gem that had knocked her from her home.

She picked up the jewelry and place it around her neck. No need to leave such a trinket lying around. She tried to stand up, but merely fell back down. The fall had taken a toll, and she wasn't sure she would be able to walk. With a hmph she crossed her arms over her chest, looking about. Well, now what was she to do? With no one around, and apparently unable to support herself, she was as good as a sitting duck.

"I thought it was to be just "Fox" now!" Fox called forwards to Ev as her horse sped on, leaning over his own horse's neck with a sly smile. "C'mon, Jupiter, we have a race to win," he whispered, egging him on with both his heels and his seat. The palomino, always willing to oblige when it came to speed, broke into a full gallop. Fox soon reached Ev, reigning Jupiter in subtly so that they ran side by side. If Ev sped, so Fox did too. It would be ungentlemanly to win this race, but it would hurt his pride to lose - at least, the former was Fox's rationale. Whether or not it was valid was questionable.

Angel sighed, watching his master speed on, and slowed. He patted his horses neck, then held a hand out to the guards. "Let them go. Trying to follow them would be useless, and your horses are already tired," the redhead said absentmindedly. The poor horses beneath the guards couldn't hope to keep up with those of the two heirs, especially considering their heavily-armoured riders. Angel's horse could have, he knew, but he would let Fox have his fun. There was no need to gallop off after him when they would catch up with the tired horses in 10 minutes or so.

Angel nudged his horse into a light trot, following slowly. The two nobles weren't even out of sight, and likely wouldn't be. Besides, if anything went wrong, Fox knew how to take care of himself. He was much like his namesake in that regard. Angel turned his head to look at one of the guards. "Does she do that often?" he asked, though he guessed that he already knew the answer.

Fox, meanwhile, was having a blast! Ev liked to ride fast, which he appreciated as well, and she was even proving a bit of a challenge to keep up with! Fox was loving it - he hoped they wouldn't stop soon, but horses could only keep up a gallop so long, and presently they had to slow to a walk to rest the two animals. Fox reached up and brushed his grey hair out of his eyes, the wind having done quite a number on it while they'd run. "You're quite the rider, L- Ev," the heir said, correcting himself on the last syllable. He smiled at her, then turned to look back. "It seems your guards gave up the chase! I wonder if it was because their horses tired of carrying such large tin cans," Fox joked, looking at her from the corner of his eye in a wryly amused fashion.

"Shall we wait for them?" Fox asked, letting Jupiter choose his own pace as he ambled down the road, blowing fairly hard from their excellent run. The palomino had used up quite a bit of energy fighting Fox for his head, too, as Jupiter was never one to tie on purpose. The stallion was proud, and feisty! Fox's father had chosen him in particular for his son.

Angel nodded to the guard in sympathy. Oh, could he ever sympathize! Fox was forever getting into trouble, hiding himself so that none but Angel could find him, nicking things from the kitchens, going on odd jaunts, usually in the middle of lightning storms... Angel's master was such a troublesome creature! Angel wondered if Ev was as bad. If she is, they're perfect for one another, he thought grumpily, squinting at the horizon line, where the two seemed to have slowed. "I can feel your pain, sirrah," Angel muttered to the guard.

"The forth?" Fox asked with a laugh. "Even I'm not that bad!" So that was an outright lie, if looked at in any way other than the immediate. He hadn't taken off on Angel four times, no, but he'd caused his share of mischief for his friend in just the two days they'd been gone. "Your nurse didn't like guards much either, eh? And good! I don't think Jupiter's much in the mood for another run at the moment," the heir said with a chuckle, patting his horse's neck as he followed Ev's lead and dismounted. Kind to her horse, I see, Fox thought fondly. It was always a good thing in a noble, kindness to the things beneath their station. Those who knew kindness to animals were those Fox usually got along with as well. He did not believe them to be entirely coincidental.

"Ev, I wouldn't dream of it," Fox said as he moved to walk along beside her. He took care to keep Jupiter on his left, as far from Ev's horse as he could. The stallion could be finicky about new horses, particularly if they were stallions as well. Jupiter always wanted to prove that he was the boss. "How long have you been traveling?" Fox asked as they ambled down the road. He was less than bothered about getting dust on his coat, though Angel would probably groan and clean in when they made camp for the night.

Angel was groaning even now, actually, though Fox couldn't hear it. "Can't you take care of your clothing for once?" the redhead complained, though he was yet far too far away for Fox to even know he'd spoken. "Now I'm going to have to wash it again..." Angel ran a hand through his read hair and pursed his lips. On the outside he certainly looked slightly irritated, but inwardly? Well, what else could he have expected. This was Fox, pure and simple... Angel smiled softly as he looked out at his friend. Were it only I could just let you be you, always, Angel thought. Duty, though, got in the way.

The guard nodded stiffly. "The king said that I and my men no longer had to accompany the heiress upon reaching our destination." How I cannot wait... he thought, suddenly exhausted. "My age must be catching up to me..." Sir said, shaking his head slightly.

"Are you not?" Evion asked with a knowing smile. "Well then. Seems I enjoy fun a little more than you, my friend Fox?" she teased. But she shook her head in response to Fox. "Not in full, no. She always thought they were a bit too stiff when it came to... 'punishing' me. How she gave those men scoldings! I would hide behind a tapestry or anywhere just to hear Nurse give those men a piece of her mind!" She grinned again, fondly remembering those days. "And Jupiter is it? What a majestic name!" She thought for a moment. "Tanyon... Jupiter... Hmm..." she hummed, thinking with a smile on her face. "Lovely names!" she concluded, happily and with a wink at Fox.

But the girl gave a small curtsey, however clumsy. "Up to you, my good fellow. The company is enjoyed." Her tone was yet again, mockingly serious, her disdain for 'manners' and what-not apparent. "But how long? Well... let's see. No more than 2 moons I would say... Yes. We've made camp twice now. But the four of us have been riding a leisurely pace." Evion paused to contemplate her words. "Okay. A leisurely pace when we weren't racing, that is." The heiress glanced over at the young man. He stood about five inches taller than herself, her eyes level with his mouth. Evion couldn't help but smile.

The guard turned to face Angel. "He does not take of his clothing either? Well. Something in common for the two, then! She wears dresses of lesser ranked women, and the dresses are always dirty in some form or fashion..." he sighed. In truth, Sir was not as put off by having to care for Evion. He enjoyed it to some extent. She was observant and had a good knack for inferring things that tended to be true. The girl also was able to make pretty much anyone smile with her innocent antics. "Aye, the child is very free-spirited," he muttered aloud.

Serena had been contemplating what she could do about this rather unpleasant situation. Clearly her ankle had been twisted, lucky for her it seemed that was the extent of her bodily damage. She looked all about her, frowning as she did, which did not seem to mar her strange beauty. She had to find a way out of this large crator, which had been gouged into the earth by her fall. She felt terrible about that, but there was nothing she could do about it now. Besides, it hadn't been her fault.

Her thoughts shifted to who might have thrown her from the sky. One delicate hand moved up to clasp the gem that rested around her neck. It was the only clue she had on the mystery of the rather rude person who had seen fit to bring her down to the earth. Though she was furious about it, she was also alittle frightened, something that she would not have mentioned to anyone, had there been anyone around. She was, after all, a rather proud star, even if she didn't always seem that way.

She tried once more to stand, but came to the same fate, stumbling back onto her bottom. Well, that was that, she would simply have to sit and wait.

As luck would have it, or perhaps it wasn't so much luck as fate, a creature appeared at the rim of the crator. At first, Serena thought she might be dreaming, then she realized that the creature was very real. It was a beautiful white stallion, a great deal larger than any horse she had seen before. Odd, its midsection seemed oddly shaped, as though something were added on. Just then, two great wings spread from the animals sides, and Serena beamed with delight. It was not a simple horse, but a winged horse, which no longer roamed the world freely as it once had. The creature took flight, soaring gracefully for a few seconds before it descended into the crator, landing beside the fallen star.

Serena looked up at the beautiful creature and reached out a hand precariously. The stallion dropped its head down to meet her hand, and they connected. She rubbed the animal affectionately, then moved her hand back to grip its tough mane. The winged horse lifted its head, helping her to her feet, where she leaned against it for support. The creature waited patiently for her to mount, for there was an unspoken bond between the two. The creatures of the earth held great respect for those of the heavens, as stars were believed to be. This animal knew what she was, and it felt obligated to help her as best it could. It sprouted its wings once more and took to the skies, landing back on the ground just off the rim of the crator.

They began walking through the forest, Serena not really knowing where to go. It seemed, for now, the creature would simply take her with him, wherever he chose to go, until she could decide what to do. At least she was out of that blasted hole in the ground.