It was sunset when Grandmama called for Auriella. She sat on her favorite rocking chair by the hearth, looking at the honey gold horizon. Grandmama didn’t like to reminisce of the past, much less talk about it. But she knew her years were coming to an end much sooner than she expected them to. Perhaps her nearing death could be credited to her deadbeat son or her harsh existence that battered onto her the lines of her face and the grays of her hair. Or perhaps it was because she knew that the time of unburying old souls and rotten bones was nearing.

The old woman clutched her ruby necklace. It was her only valuable, the only jewel she never pawned to the shop whenever the bills were overdue. It was an heirloom that had been passed down from mother to mother, a gift she received when she was eighteen and which she would now give to her beloved Auriella. But Auriella was far from turning of age, just as Grandmama was supposed to be far from death’s door. Yet, dire circumstances called for drastic measures. Any minute, something worse than death would knock on their door, and Grandmama would rather have died protecting her blood than letting Auriella spill hers for the woman's failures.

At the chime of the hour, Auriella entered the living room with a simple tray of tea. She greeted the old woman with a sour look and a complaint about school. Grandmama only smiled as she gestured to Auriella to set the tea down and come to her knee. The child skipped towards her and sat on the floor, leaning her head against the old woman’s leg.

“Can I tell you a story, dear?” Grandmama asked, tracing her finger on the shape of the ruby.

“A Bible story?”

Grandmama shook her head. She placed her hand tenderly on Auriella’s head, running her fingers through her silky hazel hair. “Do you believe in aliens, Riel?”

Auriella looked at her oddly. “Grandmama, no one believes in aliens.”

Grandmama cocked an inquisitive brow. “No one? I guess I’m the only one then.”

“You believe in aliens?”

“Yes, dearest.” Grandmama tapped the child’s nose. “I even saw one.”

“No way!”

Grandmama smiled. “Yes, I did. I met one a long time ago. When I was your age, I didn’t believe in aliens either. But before I turned nine, my mother told me a story about a world that lived in the stars. It was a big world, even bigger than ours.”

“Bigger than Earth?”

“Yes, dearest. Much, much bigger. And more powerful, too.” Grandmama glanced at the darkening horizon as the navy blues of night encroached on the blazing sky of the sun. It was time, she decided with a resolute nod, to tell her the truth.

Grandmama began her tale with the mystical world of the four nations, made of different deities and creatures, each guided by its own leader. One leader for the Universe, one for Knowledge, two for Life, Death, and Immortality, and one for Vice and its Shadows. Each was entrusted in protecting their people, and together, kept the universe balanced. Though, as all may know, one who wielded such dangerous, evil power inevitably carried the heaviest burden, and the leader of Vice was consumed by his own abilities and sought domination over the four nations.

And thus, a war began.

Auriella shifted closer to the old woman in interest. Grandmama gave her a wearied smile.

She continued on to recount that the nation of Knowledge was the first to surrender in fear, sealing their wisdom to protect the secrets of existence from the nation of Vice. When one nation fell, so, too, did the others, for they were all just dominoes in a line, bringing about each other’s downfall. Without the nation of Knowledge, the nation of Life, Death, and Immortality fell to the clutches of Vice, and soon after, the nation of the Universe.

“But,” Grandmama began, “the nations did not fall without some sort of resistance. And the one who resisted the most was the Constellation Goddess.”

“Who is she, Grandmama?” Auriella inquired.

Grandmama closed her eyes. “The ruler of the Universe.”

“Does she have super strong powers?”

“Yes. Super.” Grandmama opened her eyes, a glint of determination in them. “So strong that the Archfiend wanted to kill her.”

“The Archfiend?”

“The Emperor of Vice.” Grandmama stood up from her seat, the hand on her necklace gripping it. She stared as the sun sank below the horizon and watched as darkness shrouded the land. Grandmama decided that this amount of knowledge was enough. Enough to inform Auriella of her destiny, but not too overbearing to heavy her heart. The specificities and details of it all would come in time.

Now or never, Grandmama told herself. “Auriella, you must listen to me.”

“I’m listening.”

The old woman cupped her granddaughter’s cheek, a tender sparkle in her eyes. “There is another world out there needing you. You–” Her hand rose to clutch her necklace– “We have been chosen to bear the burden of the universe, and though it was never our decision to have this destiny, it is still your decision to answer their calling.”

Grandmama bent down, unlatched the clasp of her necklace, and held it in her hand. Under the dim living room light, the ruby glinted and reflected against the young girl’s curious eyes.

“Here are the powers of the Constellation Goddess.” With a pause, she clasped the necklace around the girl’s neck. “As my grandmother has done to my mother, and my mother to me, I now hand to you the Goddess’ blood so, in you, our fates will be set free.”

Auriella touched the heirloom on her chest. Her lips tightened into a frown. “Grandmama, I’m confused.”

“And you will be until you turn eighteen.” She nodded. Again, the woman gazed at the window, covered in the complete shroud of night. “It’s time, my love. Have you packed your bags like I asked?”

Auriella nodded dutifully. “I did so before school today.”

“Good girl.” She cocked her head towards the door. “Now go get them. We don’t want to miss our ferry.”

Auriella nodded and dashed towards her room, leaving her Grandmama to gaze outside the window once more. When Auriella entered her room, she threw on her warm coat and picked up the blue duffle bag on the floor. Grandmama told her a week ago that she wanted to take a small vacation just before Auriella got out for winter break. She was told she’d see snow, and Auriella had never seen one drop of a snowflake living in the tropical climates of Danstary. Before she headed out, however, she took one last look at herself in the mirror. The ruby shimmered under the pale light that seeped into her room from the stars and moon. It was a wonderful necklace, and the young girl couldn’t help but feel as if she was a grown woman like Grandmama, wearing fancy jewelry and skipping school for a flight, at the mere age of eight.

But just as she lifted her duffle bag around her shoulder and fixed her warm coat, she heard a loud knock on the door, followed by a hard smash, and a terrified shriek from– Grandmama.

Auriella dropped her bag and raced towards the living room as she heard other voices. The loud crash of a table, a bookshelf, and the painful shatter of glass halted Auriella just at the frame of the entrance to the living room. Another shriek. A bang.

Auriella’s heart pounded as she peered into the scene from the shadows of the darkened hallway, only to find herself stifling a gasp and swallowing the bile rising in her throat. She tried to turn away, tried to dart to her room and shut the door. But not a muscle dared to move, to race, to escape– not without Grandmama who lay bleeding on the floor.

Auriella managed to part her lips, only to whisper her grandmother’s name, but the intruders– whom she just noticed were tall men dressed in black cloaks and donning Domino masks– began cursing at one another. The ruby necklace was added to their murmurings, in the same phrase as the words find it. In that moment, a soft and buzzing voice whispered in Auriella’s ears to run.

It was then that she knew her fate rested on the gem around her neck.

Auriella regained control over her limbs and backed slowly from the doorframe, tears streaming down her cheeks as guilt threatened to choke her. She stifled it all, her sniffs, her gasps, and silently locked herself in her room. Once inside, she went for the window, gazing down at the large gap between the sill and the ground. Perhaps living in a house made on stilts near a beach was a wonderful idea if one needed not to escape inevitable doom.

Auriella’s chest rose and sank in panic, her fingers rising to the edges of her teeth. She glanced around for some kind of rope or object she could use to climb out or lessen her fall, but all ideas she could think of for her escape either took too long to make or would still kill her anyway.

She then considered her burner phone, tucked in the drawer of her dresser. Auriella pulled it out, and debated whether or not to call him. Grandmama gave her the phone just a few months ago with only one contact in it titled N. She remembered Grandmama talking to a man over the phone once, which she only assumed to be N, though when Auriella asked, Grandmama said it was no one. It was when she received the phone did Grandmama tell Auriella N’s identity and warned her only to call him if ever a great tragedy or emergency occurred.

This was definitely both.

Auriella pressed on the contact. As it rang, she heard heavy footsteps, followed by the breaking of doors. There were only three doors before hers at the end of the hall: the doors to the office, Grandmama’s room, and the shared bathroom. One had gone down.

Auriella took the phone with her to her closet doors, locking them tightly. Another crash sounded; Grandmama’s door had fallen.

“Come on, come on,” Auriella pleaded, her hands trembling violently. In complete darkness, the ruby necklace seemed to sparkle brighter, and Auriella took it off to stuff into the folds of her clothes, praying it didn’t give her location away. “Please answer the phone!” She begged in a tight whisper.

A crash, this one closer– gone was the bathroom door.

“Please!”

The phone stopped ringing and a voice, what seemed to be from a man’s, cleared his throat. “Uh, yes, hello?”

“N-Norman,” Auriella sniffed, holding the phone close to her. The men’s footsteps stopped before her door. “I need help.”