The palace of Solaria was beautiful, but so were the outer lands around it. I couldn’t believe I never thought to go outside until my seventh birthday. There was so much to see and a lot to take in. There were rolling hills of emerald grass that reflected all sorts of shades of green and shone with brilliant light and intensity. There was a gorgeous river flowing around the palace that was extremely pure and clean. Its water looked like it was made of the bluest types of sparkled starry topaz as it traveled downstream towards what would one day become the capital city, Solaris, populated by my brothers heirs and descendants. My favorite part was the Solarian sky. It shone with the constant light of day that was given off by the atmosphere around our planet. Archangel Michael had once told me that the edge of the solar atmosphere served as a barrier which kept us safe in the event our kingdom was invaded by dark spirits or carnal souls. He also mentioned that from the outside, our world looks like a brilliant star made of dangerous fire, even though from inside our world, we could look out in the clarity of pure light and see the starry hosts surrounding our planet.

“Woah!” I exclaimed. I hopped up and down and pointed. “It’s so amazing. I’ve never seen that before in my entire life. Lulu! LULU! Look!”

“What?” Lulu responded as he sat at a small table he had brought outside. He was drawing something and did not look up to see what I was pointing at.

“No really!” My voice went from loud to breathless with wonder. “Look it’s so amazing! It has a sparkly golden, almost cylindrical shape at the bottom. And there are heart shaped emerald things growing from it. They’re emeralds, but their so thin and fine like paper. And it’s so beautiful!”

Lulu looked up, but for some reason, he looked tired or unfazed instead of transfixed by the amazing beauty of the thing. “That is called a tree,” he said in a dull tone.

“A tree!” I yelled in excitement as I jumped higher than I had ever jumped in my entire life. “Oh, what a lovely tree.” I clasped my hands together. “I want to name her, Treena.” I swayed from side to side, unable to contain myself. “Do you like your name, Ms. Treena?”

“Trees don’t have names, Selena,” Lulu responded. “They’re just trees and they are not supposed to-”

“Look, Lulu!” I interrupted in excitement. “Treena’s making pretty flowers.”

Scarlet blossoms with pointed, starlike petals bloomed all over the glowing emerald leaves that engulfed the top of Treena’s branches.

“Okay…” Lulu said slowly. “That wasn’t strange at all.” His voice sounded awkward. I almost thought he wasn’t really saying what he meant.

I walked up to him. “What are you drawing, Lulu?”

“Please go away,” he answered as he rubbed his eyes and rested his elbows on the folding table.

I leaned over his shoulder and saw that Lulu had a sheet of papyrus paper where he had penciled out shapes and lines. Each shape had five spikes with lines connecting them in various patterns. “Are you playing a game?” I asked. “What are those spiky things for?”

“No,” he massaged his temple in annoyance. “It’s not a game. They’re stars. I’m trying to map them out.”

How strange. I tilted my head. “Why are you playing connect the dots with the stars?”

“I’m not playing connect the dots! I’m mapping out constellations!” he pounded a fist on the table and sighed. “Why are you so annoying? Can’t you see I’m busy?”

I jumped at the noise of his fist hitting the table and I couldn’t stop myself from becoming tearful. “Why do you hate me so much?” I spoke through sobs as he faced me with a surprised expression. “You’ve always hated me and I don’t understand why!”

“Seriously, Selena?” he exclaimed. “You’re so dramatic. Just leave me alone, go hug your dear archangel, and calm down.”

“You didn’t answer my question!” My voice rose and I sensed vibrant pulsations of an energy I had never felt before. “Why do you hate me?!”

Lulu’s eyes became fearful. He looked at me in a way that made me feel like I was a dangerous creature. I became angry as heat surged all over my body.

“STOP!” Lulu exclaimed as he bolted out of his chair and jumped back several feet, his eyes still watching me steadily.

I stomped my left foot in anger. “NO!” I cried out. I heard a loud clap of thunder behind my shout and jumped. It wasn’t the archangel’s thunder. It was coming from my own voice. My heart pounded with dread. “Why did I have a thunder voice?”

“Because you’re being too emotional,” Lulu shouted. “You need to calm down and stop feeling so many things! You’re making lightning and it’s coursing up all around you!”

An ominous feeling washed over me as I tried to process what was happening. Fear over took me and I dropped to fetal position on the ground. My chest felt horribly cold, as if ice was forming at the center of my heart. “Why is it so cold?” I trembled as it became difficult to move. I could barely even feel the grass around me. My spirit was freezing as thin layers of frost formed on my arms and all over my body in odd floral and snowflake patterns. “It’s too cold!”

“Selena, we live in THE HOTTEST world in the galaxy,” Lulu was speaking, but it felt like he was further away than he was. “What are you talking about…Seriously? Ice too, Selena? You wield thunder AND ice? And you make flowers grow by giving plants names.”

“It was an accident,” I sobbed. “How do I make it stop?! It doesn’t feel good.”

“You’re so weird!” Lulu’s voice picked up additional tones that growled beneath his words. “I am the Crown Prince of Solaria and I can only wield fire! Do you think that’s fair, Unicorn? You’re the brattiest brat I have ever met!”

“That’s enough,” Archangel Michael’s voice resounded directly above me. I wondered where he was to be near us in an instant until I realized he had just teleported. Before I knew it, he was lifting me to my feet and wrapping me in a bright red blanket. His eyes looked sad as he rubbed off the ice around my arms in its warmth. The blanket was comforting as it glowed with golden rays of light. I was about to thank the archangel, but I was distracted by the expression in his eyes. He looked more sorrowful than I had ever seen them before. Why was he in so much pain?