Actions

Work Header

Stardust

Summary:

❝She is made of stardust, her eyes reflect starlight, and when she cracks it escapes and shines through for all to see.❞

Chapter 1: |•| The Beginning |•|

Chapter Text

Cold, everything was just so cold. Stela so badly wanted to slip back inside the church, maybe rekindle some of the candles to warm her up a bit, but what if mama came back when she was inside? She made a promise, one that she swore to keep to her mama before she pushed her inside the abandoned church and rushed away towards the mountains.

"I could bring a candle outside with me...maybe then mama could see the light when she comes." She murmured as she stood up from the steps to stretch her aching legs and shook them a bit to get some feeling back into them before turning to enter the old church.

Inside was cold and drafty, but not as cold as it was outside. Stela moved quickly to the front of the church where she slept, hoping that she had at least one of the more bigger candles she sometimes used to keep warm and keep the darkness away. She always hated sitting in the dark, it always left like some sort of demon was going to come out of the shadows and kill her before she even knew what was happening.

She managed to find the small knife her mother gave her and used it to defend herself, but there was a bit of a problem when the knife didn't make sparks like it normally did. Seeing that the blade had become dull, she proceeded to walk out of the church to find a rock to sharpen it like her mother showed her.

"Oh!" Stela stopped in her tracks, already halfways out the door when she saw a strange woman outside the steps of the church.

"I'm so sorry, I wasn't expecting anyone to come out of that old church." The woman apologized quickly as Stela shifted back a bit in fear. "Don't worry, I won't hurt you. Here, are you hungry?" The woman pulled a half a loaf of bread from the satchel she carries and held it out to her. "I have more if you still feel hungry, and some jerky strips if you want something to add for flavor.

"I...mama says I'm not supposed to accept things from strangers." Stela said softly, even though she could feel her stomach growl in protest.

"Where's your mother?" The woman asked. "I have some more food if the two of you need some to eat."

"Mama said she'd be back, she told me to stay right here." Stela replied quietly as she gripped the candle tightly in her little hand. "I promised I wouldn't leave this place until she came back to get me. Some mean people were chasing us, screaming and yelling mean things at my mama."

The woman's eyes widened in surprise and quickly moved up the stairs to where Stela was standing. "You mean you've been here all on your own? Where's your father?"

"Gone. I don't know where my aunties are at either, we got separated from them when we were running away."

"Oh you poor thing…" the woman knelt down to the girl's level and held the bread out to her. "Here, you must be very hungry, and I'm sure your mother would not mind if you had something to eat while she's gone. Would you like me to stay here with you until she comes back?"

"Can you?" Stela asked, her little face lighting up.

The older woman smiled. "Of course. I'm Lisa Tepes, and you are?"

"I'm Stela!"

💫💫🌟💫💫

"Wow! That's a big house!"

Lisa chuckled to herself as she watched Stela gawk at the sight of the castle. "That's actually a castle, it's a very big and fancy house. Much nicer than a church too."

"Do you live here?" Stela asked as Lisa led her up the stairs of the castle. "Do all castles look like this?"

"I do live here, with my husband and our son, I'm sure they'd love to meet you. And no, not all castles look like this."

Stela stayed close to Lisa as they reached the top of the stairs and pushed open the huge doors to take her inside. The inside of the castle was large too, and felt very empty as well.

"Vlad, I'm home! And I brought someone!" Lisa called as she held Stela close to her.

"Lisa, why do you have a human child with you?" Stela gave a startled gasp and pressed closer to Lisa as a tall and pale skinned man draped in a black cloak stepped right out of the shadows. He frowned in her direction as he approached them, and Stela could see the pointed ears, fangs, and the bright red eyes.

"Hello dear, and I brought her with me, she needs a place to stay." Lisa responded, obviously not bothered or frightened by this strange man. "This is Stela, and she'll be staying with us."

"That's a vampire." Stela said quietly as she pressed herself closer to Lisa in fear.

"Yes I am, thank you for observing." The vampire muttered. "Lisa, why on Earth did you even bring her here, where are her parents?"

"She's alone Vlad, she's been waiting for her mother on the steps of an old abandoned church. We had been waiting there for two days before I realized the poor woman must be dead. I asked someone in one of the towns I was passing through knew what happened to a woman named Joan and they told me she was killed and burned for apparently being a witch."

"Another reason I dislike humans, they turn on each other the second one hears something bad about the other." The old vampire sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Lisa, I love you very much, but I don't know if I can tolerate having a human child in the castle. There's areas she can't even go into because she might get hurt in some way, and what if her family comes looking for her? Do you think they'd take her back when they found out she slept under the same roof as someone like me?"

"Stela says she has aunt's, but doesn't know where they are, and I'm beginning to suspect they are also dead." Lisa gave Stela's shoulder a small squeeze. "She needs a home Vlad, I couldn't bear to leave her alone to starve and probably die of hunger and cold on the steps of an abandoned church. Besides, Adrien has been wanting someone to play with if we're too busy."

The vampire studied the child, taking in her soft brown hair that was matted and dirty, her dirt covered face, her wide green eyes that stared back at him in fear and curiosity, before he released a sigh of defeat.

"Fine, she may stay. But you'll have to keep an eye on her."

Lisa smiled proudly. "Don't worry, I'll make sure she's alright. Where is Adrien, I want to introduce him to his new friend."

"Upstairs in his room, taking a nap. He's been trying to see if he could stay awake at night like me but I keep finding him passed out in the library in the middle of the night." Vlad replied, gesturing to the stairs. "Stela, that's an interesting name. Did you know it means starlight in Romanian?"

"Yes, mama told me!" Stela responded, her little face lighting up. "She liked to call me her little star!"

Lisa saw her husband's lips twitch into a smile. "I could see why."

Lisa soon led Stela away towards the bedrooms, keeping the child close to her. They soon approached one bedroom and stepped inside, and she made sure the door was kept slightly open behind them.

In this room was a little boy, about two or perhaps three years younger than Stela, his long blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail as he laid on his bed with a book in his hands. Stela couldn't read the title of the book, but it must have been quite interesting since the child didn't even look up until Lisa cleaned her throat loudly.

"Mama!" The boy cried out when he lowered his book and quickly placed it down to jump off the bed and run to hug Lisa. "I missed you! The castle felt empty without you and very boring! Did you being a present?"

"I missed you too my little boy." Lisa laughed as she bent down to kiss his forehead. "I completely forgot to bring a little something from my trip, but I did bring someone you should meet. This is Stela."

Stela raised her hand and gave the child a little wave. "Hi."

"His name is Adrien, say hello darling."

"H-hi…" the little boy said in a soft voice it was almost a whisper.

Stela felt her heart swell as the little boy moved out from behind his mother's skirts, ran over to her and threw his arms around her waist in a hug. She couldn't help but smile as she put her arms around him to return the hug.

"Are you gonna be my big sister?" Adrien asked Stela excitedly. "I kept asking mama and papa for a sister, and they haven't gotten one yet! And we need a girl so mama won't be lonely and sober can be even!"

"I...I guess I can be your big sister?" Stela said, quite unsure. "I don't know how long I'll be staying here, but I can try to be a sister for you. I don't have any siblings of my own either."

"I can be your brother then! Do you like to read?"

"I don't know how to read."

Adrien gave a loud gasp. "Mama she needs to learn how to read! Come on, I'll take you to the library!"

Lisa watched as her soon took his new friend's hand and pulled her out of the room, passing Vlad, who had been standing in the doorway of the bedroom.

"Seems like he's warned up to her quite quickly." He said with a hint of a smile on his face. "Never thought I'd witness the day you brought a human child into our house and our son declared them as their older sibling."

"I'm sure in time she'll get used to being around you dear, just like I have." Lisa assured him as she walked over to him and took his hand. "She can stay as long as she likes, and we'll raise her as our own. Adrien needs a friend of his own,and who better to be friends than her?"

"I suppose having a human as a daughter wouldn't be so bad then."