It had been a strange realization for the golden child, to realize that she and her twin sister were not their parents’ only children. Of course, they were the only children from Keav and Bastille, as no others existed. Astana had gone searching for Orani, had found her, standing there in a cerulean gown with starry eyes and the same smile as the mother they both shared. It had been some sort of illusion in a way. They had not known their mother to have other children. Their father, they had began to slowly meet their half siblings as they made their way into the desert. Astana realized that she and her twin were not the only ones created of starlight or sand. She wondered then, what made them so special? Sometimes, she still wonders such things.

Astana had always been happy to share the limelight with her sister. Etoile was beautiful in this quiet grace that made her almost as unattainable as the stars above. If there were anyone who physically encapsulate beauty, it would be her twin. Etoile spoke words like poetry and moved like a dancer. Astana believed if she could just be an ounce like her twin, maybe she would be special too.

Maybe, that is why she had come to Beqanna, why she had found Kildare ready to make his move and had latched onto him like pollen to a honey bee. She had looked into eyes of green and thought him wonderful, too wonderful to simply let him wriggle from her grasp. She had walked beside him, inciting stories of adventure. Everyone, it seems, has had an adventure but her. Her mother had lived for so many years, her grandfather had been a pirate of the seas, her father had escaped a dragon. Everyone was out there, living—except for her. Kildare was her ticket, of this she was certain.

Trouble was exactly where Astana had found herself soon after separating from Kildare when they arrived in Beqanna. She had found trouble in the form of a mare named Heartfire. A character in Astana’s story that had discovered the little child made of gold and diamonds and taken her home, kidnapped, but oh so willing to follow her.  Astana made a new home in Nerine, following the mare around like any good child does to a mother surrogate. She enjoys asking questions about kingdoms and rulers, about history and tales of old. Hearfire departs wisdom upon the child, many pieces going over her head due to her strong lack of age, but she tries to comprehend none the less, storying the knowledge for another day when Heartfire’s words will ring in her ears and save her from many mishaps as she continues to grow older.

Ears swivel atop her head as she hears the approach of another. She is taken away form her thoughts, back when she had lived in that desert with her family, and brought back to Beqanna, the smell that causes her own nostrils to quiver is familiar. She turns that pretty golden heard of hers and turns diamond eyes in his direction, meeting his own that look like tiny emeralds standing out against his dark skin. “Kildare,” she breathes sweetly against his name as still long, yearling legs begin to move towards him. “I could ask you the same thing,” she says with wide diamond eyes sparkling as the light catches them. “I met someone,” is what Astana says to answer his question. Heartfire has told her time and time again not to trust males. Astana cannot deny though, that Kildare did not seem like those males Heartfire spoke about. “Her name is Heartfire, Queen of Nerine, and I live with her now,” she says, unable to describe what had actually happened. Astana has yet to realized what had occurred had actually been kidnapping. She thinks that Heartfire was merely her new friend, her new guardian to guide her on the journey. “It is really pretty, I could show you sometime,” she offers excitedly, eager to share her home with another. “Where are you now Kildare? Are you still just roaming around?” She asks, little golden ears reaching forward to catch his words. Diamond eyes study his face, his eyes making her think of warm days beneath the shade of a canopy of green leaves, waving out in front of the sun like an emerald cloud.

She remembers in the desert, she had been starting to keep to herself. Staring out across the dunes she had wondered why they would stay in one place, especially when she has heard the stories her parents have told her. There was so much else beyond their world of sand, aching to be explored, to be seen with eyes of diamond. Why they lived in such a tiny part of it was beyond Astana’s own comprehension. It was not her fault though, this strange emotions that wracked her heart whenever she looked out across the horizon and wondered just how long it stretched for. The dull ache of wanderlust in her bones was a gift from her mother, the traveler who had, in Astana’s eyes at least, seen the world. She had conquered great heights, met great people, and seen great things. Astana looked at her mother with such longing and confusion. Why could she not take her twin daughters on an adventure?

It was that question that had lingered in Astana’s belly, filling it with fire until she had made that fateful decision to leave. It wasn't forever, or so she thought, but the world called to her and Astana had been willing to listen.

Astana would not deny the joy she felt with the fact that Kildare had not been able to just simply leave her side. Maybe it was partially because she had remained glued to him for most of the journey like a gum stuck to someone’s shoe. Though, she likes to think it is more that he didn't quite want to leave her. It makes her warm and fuzzy, makes a smile sparkle on her young face. She is entirely unaware of the hold she has gained on him, and maybe if she had been aware she might have used it to her advantage, but, for now, she is just content on him finding her amidst the forest trees.

Diamond eyes see him and she is content. Kildare’s face alone could be enough to turn her day into something special. He has not left her, in fact, it felt a little like he has been exactly where she left him. Like a china doll tucked on a shelf, taken and admired at whenever she wanted to see something familiar and pretty. Something to make her eyes light up when the days will grow grey and cloudy.

He smiles. It was all she needed. His dark face is curved with handsome features, and his eyes are as green as ever, Astana has always found them to be a pair of depthless beauties. Something that, if she stared too long, she could fully lose herself within. She mimics his steps with some her own, bringing them ever closer to each other. A distance that Astana can say she quite enjoys. “Taller, definitely,” she says, looking him up and down with eyes made of diamond. “And I may go as far to say more handsome too,” she says with a giggle, jesting with the dark colt that was slowly starting to grow from a leggy child like herself into a young stallion. “Though certainly not as dark,” she adds, thinking back to Heartfire’s own coat.

Astana hardly understand her current circumstances with Heartfire, a ward of sorts, because ward sounds a lot better than kidnapping. “She is really great,” she adds when Kildare does not instantly share in her excitement over Nerine’s queen. Instead, that smile seems to almost falter, causing Astana to shift under his emerald eyed gaze. “Yeah, you really should,” she says, hoping this was no false promise. Though, Astana has come to realize that Kildare was hardly the sort. “We could build a sandcastle or just play in the ocean, I haven't gone in yet,” she admits. For a child of the desert, that has never seen the ocean, it was wild and imposing for one so young. Her wide eyes had hardly been able to contain it all, as she finally understood the magic of the vast amount of water that her mother had so dearly loved.

Then why had she stayed in the desert? The question rings again, but Astana buries it beneath Kildare’s company.

“That is what I have been saying my entire life,” she says, exasperated, but pleased, someone finally got the words she had been speaking since the time she could talk. “Do you regret it?” She then questions, but there is an edge to her voice, as if this were some sort of challenge for him to conquer. “Leaving Beyond, your family?” She smiles. “Because I think this may have been the best decision we have ever made.”