Bookish and the Beast

I roll my eyes. “Ugh, I forgot how lucky you rich kids are.”

He laughs as I elbow him in the side, and motions to the folded-up paper in my hand. “Your turn.”

My fingers are tingling with anticipation. I’m not quite sure what it is, but I have a guess…If the rumor boards are right, then he might not be able to come visit me for a while. I unfold the piece of paper. First, I see the screenwriter, and then the logo. It looks like the first page of a script. But what script could it be?

Then I see the title.

THE STARLESS—

I gasp.

“Ugh, quiet down back there!” Annie complains as I hide the title page from view. “You’re making us miss the previews.”

Vance puts a finger to his grinning mouth, and I settle into the nook between his head and shoulder. “I hear the villain’s quite good in this one,” he mumbles into my ear, and I feel my mouth spreading into a grin.

“Worthy of a sequel?” I ask.

“Worthy of a redemption arc, at the very least.”

The speakers hiss with white noise before Darien finds the station, and the triumphant Starfield theme trumpets from the boom box. The projector flings stars across the weathered screen, swirling into cosmoses, taking us into another impossible world, and I think—

Mom, you were right.

This isn’t the end of my story. It’s the beginning.

To my Rosebud,

This is only the beginning of your story, not the end.

With all my love,

Mom

“What now, ah’blena?”

Amara looks out over the impossible expanse of stars and sky, and there are so many places to see, worlds to explore. Carmindor’s Prospero streaks across the sky, on its way to some other destination in the far-off regions of the Federation. With him, a little of her heart leaves, but it leaves room, too.

For new people.

For new loves.

For new impossibilities.

“The universe is wide,” she replies as she turns on her heel, and even in the darkness of the observation deck, Ambrose’s white-gold hair glows like a crown of starlight. “And I have a kingdom to rule.”

Then she snakes her fingers into the buttons between his uniform and pulls him close to her. He quirks a singular golden eyebrow. She reaches up on her tiptoes and plants a kiss against his strong jawline.

He asks, “Where to, Princess?”

“The stars.”

THE END