Sitting at a small wooden circle table, Trinity bit into her roasted turkey leg. A warm glow fell on Chuckie’s patrons as they ate and laughed around her, the smell of steak filling the air. Philly sat beside her flipping through her book of news, the gift she bought for Trinity between them. Knights of Spirits; she couldn’t wait to get home and begin reading it. Of course, she had to get through an evening of shopping first. Taking a drink of water, she looked at Dior who was quietly gazing out the window. She was so unlike herself, Trinity started to wonder if she was ill.

  “Trinity?” She flinched as Philly waved her hand in front of her face. “Calling Trinity; were you listening to a thing I said?”

  “Not at all,” she said with a smile.

  Sighing while shaking her head, Philly put her book away. “I asked if you heard about the attack in Cali Heights?”

  “A…oh! I read about it in the paper this morning.” She took another bite of her supper. “Those fiends are still on the loose!”

  “It’s scary. It’s only a matter of time before the attacks reach us.” Philly glanced at Dior before saying, “It’s like a monster of some kind.”

  “Which is why the Protector of Light will take care of them.”

  “…What?”

  Trinity leaned towards Philly, stars in her eyes. “Like how she saved the kingdom years ago,” she said. “With amazing magic, she’ll—”

  “However, something terrible happened, and all Protectors disappeared,” Philly interrupted. “That’s how your mother’s story ends, correct?”

  Trinity crossed her arms. “Your point?”

  “So, even if the legend was true, the Protector of Light is likely—”

  Suddenly, Dior stood up, startling the other two. What scared Trinity more was that her eyes were glowing pink again. “It’s time,” she said. After a few seconds, she blinked, eyes going back to normal. “It’s time to head to Parkies. Let’s go!”

  In a flash, Dior was out the door. Trinity glanced at Philly who shrugged and motioned her head to follow. Sighing, she grabbed her book and followed Philly out the restaurant and across the square. Parkies was tucked away in a corner near Atland Village’s eastern exit. It was fairly new, so Trinity had never been inside before and only heard customers from the bakery talk about it once or twice. Going inside, the smell of flower incense made her nose itch. Pink and purple lace hung from the ceiling, clothes as far as the eye could see. Dior was near the front counter with a girl in a frilly pink dress.

  A girl Trinity recognized.

  “You’re that girl!” Trinity said, pointing at her.

  Philly quickly pushed her hand down with a nervous laugh. “This is Marina, the shopkeeper’s daughter,” Dior said. “She’s a friend of mine.”

  “Welcome to our shop,” Marina said in a sickeningly sweet voice. “Please let me know if you have any questions.”

  Trinity had many questions, but before she could speak, Dior grabbed her arm and pulled her to the hat section along with Philly.

  Thirty minutes passed on the shop’s clock. Trinity yawned as she sat on a velvet chair. Next to her, Philly drew pictures while Dior tried on her twentieth hat with Marina. As the bell signaling the hour rung, Trinity stood. “I should head home,” she said.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  “Already?” Philly said with a small pout.

  “It’s getting late. You know how my mother is.” She smiled and waved. “Until tomorrow!” Turning, she made her way to the shop exit. She navigated through the clothes to the front door, the setting sun making the sky outside the windows as orange as the dog boy’s eyes. Trinity wondered if he had ever made it to the schoolhouse, and she decided to ask Skyler about him once she got home.

  That is, if she could open the shop’s door.

  Frowning, Trinity twisted, pulled, and pushed the knob, but the door would not open. “Excuse me?” she said, turning to the shopkeeper. “Is the shop closing early today? The door is locked.”

  The shopkeeper frowned. “The shop is closing at its regular time,” she said. “The door should…” she wobbled, “…be…”

  Two seconds later, she was lying across the counter.

  Heart pounding, Trinity raced over to her. “Are you okay?” she said, shaking her shoulder. The woman whimpered a little before opening her eyes.

  Her eyes were glowing pink.

  “Your eyes,” was all Trinity said before she was pushed against the counter. The shopkeeper smirked as she grabbed her arms and squeezed. “Let go of me!” Trinity shouted. The woman did not listen, so the 12-year-old kicked her in the stomach with all her might. She gagged and fell to the floor. Without another thought, Trinity sprinted to the door. She banged on it with her hands and feet. “Someone, please—!” She coughed, the air becoming hard to breathe in. “I need…we need to get out of here!”

  Spinning, Trinity raced to the hat section. After more twists than before, she found her friends with their heads down. She grabbed Dior and pulled her over to where Philly was sitting. “We have to leave,” she said quickly. “The shopkeeper just attacked me.”

  “The shopkeeper?” Marina said from across the room.

  “Yes! Your mother grabbed me! The door is locked, too, and—”

  Slam!

  Trinity gasped as she was pushed against the wall. Her friends held her arms tight, making her wince. “That hurts! What the heck are you two…?”

  Trinity’s heart dropped as Dior’s glowing eyes stared at her, Philly’s matching hers. Hearing footsteps, she looked up to see Marina walking towards her, her pale pink eyes sparkling. “I had to make sure there was no escape after my pawn brought you to me, Areiria,” she said with a smirk.

  “A…what?”

  “You cannot fool me! I know the power to unlock The Heavenly Star is within you.” Marina chuckled a bit. “You may have caught me at a bad time this morning, but I won’t let you escape this time. Now,” she grabbed Trinity by the collar, “show me your true magic so I may prove my loyalty to my queen.”

  “What are you talking about?” Trinity said as she tried to move. “Who are you? What did you do to my friends?”

  “No more questions!”

  With a snap of her fingers, a pink light covered Marina’s body. The aura went onto Trinity, burning her skin. At the same time, it felt like she was underwater. The sensations made her eyes water as she struggled to keep them open. “You’re…the one behind the attacks, aren’t you?” she muttered. The aura began to solidify into crystal. Out the corner of her eye, Trinity could see the light from the bakery go out. “Mama…Papa…help.” Tears falling, Trinity closed her eyes. “Protector of Light…please save me!”

  “Open your eyes!”

  Hearing a boy’s voice, Trinity opened her eyes. The crystal had vanished as a bright blue light shone on her hand. “What is that?” she said.

  “Is this it?” Marina said, eyes wide. Warmth spread through Trinity’s body as the light grew when

  Zap!

  A bolt of blue lightning shot down. Marina, Philly, and Dior were thrown off Trinity who fell to the floor. “I’m not burned,” she said, rubbing her arm. “What was that?”

  “That…is the power I seek,” Marina said with a glare. Slowly standing, she stomped towards Trinity. “In the name of Her Majesty—”

  Before she could get within five inches of her target, something pushed her back. The “something” jumped before Trinity, tail trembling. “You’re…” Trinity gasped, “…the boy from this morning!”

  Brushing off her dress, Marina smirked. “So, you refuse to learn your lesson, failure?” she said. “You have practically led me to The Areiria.”

  Ignoring her, the boy turned to Trinity. “Do you have a bracelet?” he asked.

  What was left of Trinity’s fear changed completely to confusion. “What?” she said.

  The boy frowned. “Do you have a star bracelet where the light appeared?”

  Looking down, Trinity gasped. On her right wrist was a golden band with a star on the top. Inscribed on it was a smaller blue star that seemed to spark whenever she moved her hand. “I do!” she said.

  The boy’s frown softened. “Then, you are not The Areiria. You’re the new Protector of Light.”