Starry Night

Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews and Suggestions!

to Miliana: I've fixed Chapter 8. Thanks for telling me about my mistake!

To Antaris: I'll be adding more information on Jack's character development and more info on the other world in the next chapter. Also, it is an AU Modern earth and this story is definatly going to be a long one. ^.^

To LadyRyann: I made this chapter longer and will do my best to do so with future chapters for you. ^.^

To My_Perversities: This chapter will be answering a few of you're questions, the rest of which will be answered in future chapters. :P Enjoy!

To Everyone Else: Thanks for the support! I'll do my best to upload at least one chapter everyday for as long as I can!

Any more reviews will be greatly appreciated!

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Ferns hand hovered over me as I watched it glow. He held it there a bit longer than he had when healing my other wounds the other night. Just as I was about to ask him about this, his palm dimmed and he removed it from over me.

Chase was in the hall with a group of onlookers and therefore out of sight. Blake, on the other hand, was once again standing beside the table, although I didn’t allow him the pleasure of holding my hand this time.

“That was a pretty serious injury you had. How did you come by it?” The doctor asked.

I recalled seeing the headlights shoot at me as I was running across the street to escape my pursuers. At the time, I didn’t think it was a good idea to tell these people that I had been hit by a cop car while running from the police.

“Same as usual.” I answered bluntly, and then examined the glove on the man’s hand which was once again covered in blood. “How can you heal me like that? And why is you’re glove always covered in blood afterwards? I didn’t feel you touch me.”

Fern looked at me in surprise, just as Chase had done when I first spoke to him. “Um, well,” He stuttered, “You see, it’s simply how it’s done. Using these gloves I can absorb your injury into them while sending waves of my own energy into your system to manipulate your white blood cells and fast forward the healing process.”

“But how?” I asked.

This time the doctor just smiled. “A long time ago when the process was first used, it was actually a way of trading health. Say a perfectly healthy man was to perform this task on someone with a gash in their stomach. Afterwards, the man who had performed the task would be the one with the injury while the patient was completely cured. After all, using ones own energy to heal some one else causes them injury upon themselves as well.”

I didn’t understand completely what he had said, but it did make me wonder. “Then does your side hurt now?”

“Oh, of course not. These gloves I use have an extra spurt of power in them that I can use to heal you’re wounds while the injuries are transferred into them and not to me. Though one’s hands do bleed sometimes if the injuries of the patient are sever enough, but it never hurts when it happens to me.”

“Oh, okay then.” I answered, utterly confused as to how that was possible.

The two men then glanced at each other and smiled, obviously understanding my confusion.

“I’m glad that you’ve become more talkative.” Blake smiled at me.

“Where am I?” I asked before I forgot.

Blake looked like he couldn’t believe I had just asked that. “You’re in the doctor’s office of course.” He answered.

Were I not as shy as I was I could have slapped him for that answer. “I mean, where is this place?”

“Mooncrest.” Fern answered. “The capital of Beldarum. Did you not know that?”

I shook my head.

“Where are you from then?”

Blake observed me intensely, clearly wanting to know more than Fern did.

“I’m –“I started, but was interrupted by a knocking at the door.

“Hold that thought.” Fern stood and answered. On the other side stood Chase ahead of a whole group of people looking eagerly into the room.

Chase noticed me sitting up on the table and grinned. “I see he’s been healed. May I come in now?”

Fern grimaced at the mass forming behind the man before answering. “Yes, but make sure they don’t come in too. This room may be large enough for a number of patients, but not for THAT many.”

The blonde eagerly came in and closed the door on the onlookers before walking up to me.

“It’s a pleasure to formally meet you Singer.” He held a hand out towards me.

Blake glared daggers at the man as I took his hand and shook it. After I let go, the man noticed his friend’s expression and giggled. “If you wanted to shake his hand so badly, you should have done it sooner. There’s no reason to get upset just because I had the guts to do it before you.”

“Why would you be afraid to shake my hand?” I asked Blake, who blushed suddenly.

“No reason.” He looked away, embarrassed for some strange reason. “Where were you from again?”

“Cumberton.” I answered.

“Cumberton?” Fern wondered aloud. “I’ve never heard of the name. Where might it be located?”

I tried to recall the few years of school I had where we learned about the earth. “I can’t remember which state, but it’s some where in America I think.” It was the best answer I could come up with in my ignorance.

“And where might America be located?”

“I don’t know, between two oceans I guess. It’s a pretty large country.”

“Country?” Chase asked. “I don’t believe there’s a country here called America.”

I may not be too keen on geographical details, what with only having made it to the third or fourth grade before my parents had died, but I did recall that America was defiantly a country, or maybe it was just a continent? Both? Honestly, I’m sixteen and about as smart as a preschooler.

“How can that be? What countries do you know of?” I finally asked them.

“Shermar, Glidian, Beldarum, Carustap, and Neldoth.” Fern answered. “Though those are actually continents which are ruled as countries, regardless of their sizes.”

I didn’t recognize any of the names at all. “I have no idea where those places might be.”

“Than I’m going to assume you’re from a less knowledgeable city, or town.” Fern stated. “There’s no where else I could think of for you to be from.”

“Okay.” I complied.

“Umm.” Blake scratched his head. “If you’re willing to stay a little longer this time, perhaps you would let us give you a tour, or at least some better clothing?”

I looked down at the old and tattered brown clothes I had. There were holes in the knees of my jeans, I had to use a rope as a belt to keep them from falling down, and my brown shirt was ripped in numerous places revealing flesh underneath. Not to mention the countless mud soaked blood stains, and now that I was thinking on the subject, my face probably looked just as bad.

I smiled up at him. “Clothes would be nice.”

Blake seemed to freeze as though he were mesmerized. Then I frowned and asked what was wrong.

“Oh, nothing.” He snapped out of it instantly and held his hand out towards me. “Let’s get you fixed up.”

Not as hesitantly as I expected did I take his hand. He helped me stand and caught me when I tripped over my own feet.

“Might I come along then?” Chase asked. “I have a friend here who’s exceptional with hairstyles. He could fix that knot on his head and make him look even cuter.”

“Cute?” I gazed at the other man who then put his hand over is mouth and blushed as though he had just said something he didn’t mean to.

Beside me, Blake was once again glaring at his friend, but stopped once he noticed that I was looking.

“Please don’t be offended, he wasn’t making fun of you.” The man explained while Chase recomposed himself.

It was true that I had initially taken the statement to be a form of insult since I thought he meant it sarcastically. But looking at the man's face made me feel as though his words might have actually been honest.

“It’s alright.” I grinned honestly for the first time in years.

“Well then, I still have work to do here so if you need me, just drop by.” Fern waved us off as I was lead by the hand through the door and into the crowd.

Some of the onlookers attempted to reach out and briefly touch me, yet were stopped by a single glance from either Blake or Chase. Once we were back into the large hallway alone I took the opportunity to ask a few more questions.

“How come everyone seems to like me so much here?” I asked.

“Don’t you know?” Chase answered. “For the past two weeks, or at least for as long as you’ve been singing, you’ve been famous!”

“Why?”

Blake hesitantly put a hand on my shoulder. I almost flinched away, but forced myself to stay still. “Because everyone has heard of the mysterious singer who creates music atop the capitol building at night.”

Confused, I focused on my steps. “How does everyone know about that?”

Chase smiled. “That Lyriar was designed so as that it may be heard through out all of Mooncrest. Long ago it was once used to celebrate holidays and festivals by having a musician play it during the celebrations, but that tradition has faded away at least two centuries ago. So naturally it came as a shock when a mysterious stranger began to suddenly appear and play it in the middle of the night. Not only that, but also some one who could sing! You’re voice is what made you famous over everything. So many people have been dying just to know what you look like.”

“Is that why everyone has been calling me singer around here?” I asked.

They both nodded.

“But how come people are so enthusiastic about music? It hasn’t been that long since I first started playing that….Lirar?”

“Lyriar.” Blake corrected happily.

“Right. Anyways, I’m not event that great of a singer. So how can I be famous over something I haven’t been doing for so long?”

“Because it is how our community works. Music happens to be a basis for the people.” Chase smiled ahead.

“Also,” I turned my attention towards Blake as he continued Chase’s statement. “Because you do it so well. Regardless of how you view your own voice, everyone else thinks your songs are amazing and wish to hear you every night. You should have seen how people reacted when you didn’t sing yesterday. Oh! And not to mention I’m the only one with the key to that room. No one has ever seen you come or go so there have been a number of rumors about you being a phantom of the night, or something along the lines of that.”

“Which brings us to the question of how you’ve been making it in and out of the most secured building in all of Beldar?” Chase then asked.

I froze in place. The two took a few steps ahead of me before noticing that I had stopped.

“Did I say something wrong?” The blonde asked.

I shook my head. “I didn’t know I was trespassing.” I partially whispered.

They both observed me with concern. Normally I would have expected a bit more irritation from someone talking with a person just accused of breaking and entering, yet these two didn’t seem to mind at all that I had unknowingly been doing so.

“Think nothing of it.” Chase then changed the subject. “You’ve not done anything wrong and the people love you for the music you’ve been blessing them with. It’s just nice to have a sweet melody to sleep to.”

I still didn’t feel any better and slowly began trudging ahead again.

I didn’t speak the rest of the way down the hall, but when we made it to the front double doors, two handsome red haired butlers in black suits opened them for us to reveal the outside night. There stood another butler with grey hair and a slight goatee, something I was positive was out of the norm for a man in service to have. He stood beside a carriage drawn by four enormous…..Wolves?

Were it not for what the butler said next I would probably have been staring at the beasts all night.

“Greetings your majesties.” He addressed Chase and Blake.

Majesties? I stopped and wondered to myself. Where these guys kings?