Star's hands trembled ever so slightly, his mind racing.
Aliana's promise echoed in his head - " I won't... leave you."
But then, like a shadow creeping over a flickering flame, his master's voice clawed its way back into his thoughts.
"Never trust people with emotions, Star."
"They only want to take from you - your friends, your safety."
"The only one you can trust... is me."
His gaze hardened for a moment, though his face remained as blank as ever.
"You could... be lying," Star whispered, still refusing to look at Aliana. "You could be trying to... steal them."
Aliana felt her heart drop.
He wasn't just scared - he was programmed to believe that trust was a weapon others would use against him.
The air between them thickened.
She realized that words alone wouldn't break his fear.
That's when her eyes darted across the dim room - and landed on a pair of rusty handcuffs hanging from a nail on the wall.
An idea struck her - a risky one.
She took a deep breath, grabbing the cuffs. "Star," she said softly, "where's the key?"
Star blinked, confused. "Key?"
Aliana nodded. "Yeah. To these."
His trembling hand reached into his cloak and pulled out a small, worn key. "Master said they're for... bad friends... if they try to run."
She bit her lip - of course.
But she didn't hesitate.
With a metallic click, she cuffed one of the cold steel bracelets around her own wrist.
Then, she held out the other cuff toward Star.
"Lock yourself in."
Star's expression didn't change - but his body stiffened, his mind clearly struggling to process what she was doing.
"Why...?" he asked.
Aliana's voice was calm but firm. "If I'm really trying to trick you... then I won't let myself be tied to you, right?"
She rattled the cuff on her wrist gently, the chain clinking between them.
"If we're both locked together... I can't run away from you."
Star stared at the open cuff for a long moment.
His fingers trembled.
It was a strange test of trust - one he didn't understand.
But...
"Okay."
The cuff clicked shut around his wrist.
For the first time - they were bound together.
A silence lingered between them, broken only by the faint clink of the chain when either of them moved.
The light had tied itself successfully to darkness for balance.
This phenomenon is thereby named "Bound by Light and Darkness."
_ _ _
Aliana gently tugged on the chain. "Let's go," she said softly. "We have to release my friends."
Star flinched at the word "release"- but didn't resist.
----
The campsite was deathly quiet.
The dying embers of the campfire cast an eerie, flickering glow across the tents.
Aliana kept a steady pace, moving carefully so the chain didn't make too much noise.
Star's hypnotized "friends" followed in their usual silent, blank-eyed trance.
Once they reached the clearing, Star stopped.
His hand, cuffed to Aliana's, tightened into a fist.
"I don't... I don't want to be alone," he muttered again.
Aliana watched him carefully, her voice soft but firm. "You won't be."
His fingers twitched.
Slowly, with his free hand, he raised two fingers - and in a voice that wavered, he spoke a spell:
"Release."
A faint, dark mist seemed to unravel from the bodies of Aliana's ten friends.
One by one, their vacant expressions softened-their empty eyes blinked-before they all collapsed softly into deep sleep on the ground.
Star's breathing was shaky.
He stood there, staring at the motionless forms of Aliana's friends.
They weren't gone.
But... they weren't his "friends" anymore either.
Aliana gently placed a hand on his shoulder. "You did it."
Star didn't move. He didn't speak.
He just stared.
Aliana quickly scurried over to her tent, scribbled a note:
"Gone home early - urgent family matter. Don't worry about me!"
She tucked the note into her sleeping bag, ensuring her friends wouldn't panic when they woke.
Then, returning to Star, their wrists still bound together - she whispered, "Let's go."
The moon hung high as they made their way back through the forest.
The house was exactly as they'd left it - empty, quiet... but still heavy with the master's presence.
As they stood in the doorway, Star's voice broke the silence.
"I still need... nine more friends."
Aliana's heart sank.
He didn't see the others as people - just showpieces for his master's approval.
"Not as companions," he added blankly. "Just for Master... so I don't get punished."
The chain between them rattled softly.
Aliana clenched her jaw.
She had gotten this far - but how would she stop him from gathering more "friends"... without pushing him back into fear?
_ _ _
The dim light of the moon filtered through the cracked windows of Star's gloomy home, casting long, haunting shadows across the cold stone walls.
The air was thick with silence-except for the faint clink of the handcuffs that bound Star and Aliana together.
Star sat stiffly in the corner of the room, knees drawn up to his chest, his free hand tugging at the edge of his hood as though trying to shrink into himself.
His expression was still blank-eyes dull and lifeless-but the faint tremor in his fingers told Aliana that something deeper was stirring beneath the surface.
She knelt beside him, the chain between them jingling softly as she adjusted her position.
"By the way what is your name?" Aliana asked.
"Star." he whispered awkwardly.
Aliana in response introduced herself. "I'm Aliana."
Then within a few seconds...
"Star," she whispered carefully, "we need to leave this place... before your master comes back."
His head didn't move, but his gaze shifted slightly toward her, just enough for her to catch the flicker of fear hidden behind his usual emotionless stare.
"I can't," he said flatly. "Because if he doesn't find me.., he'll kill me."
Aliana's heart clenched.
"Kill you?"
Star nodded slowly, pulling down the edge of his cloak just enough to reveal a dark, jagged mark burned into the side of his neck. It twisted like a serpent, pulsing faintly-as if it were alive.
"It's a curse mark," Star explained, his voice a hollow monotone. "Master can end me anytime he wants... even from far away."
Tears rolled as she heard that but she immediately rubbed them off her face realizing:-
He wasn't just being controlled mentally-he was physically bound to his master's will.
For the first time, Star turned his head slightly toward her.
"Running away isn't an option," he murmured. "Master will know."
Aliana's mind spun.
She couldn't just leave him here-but if they ran, Star might not even survive.
And if they stayed? The master would return in two days-expecting ten new 'friends'.
The chain between them rattled softly as Aliana reached forward, her hand trembling slightly but with purpose.
Without thinking, she wrapped her arms around Star.
A tight, warm embrace.
Star went rigid.
His entire body tensed as though her touch was something foreign-unnatural-like he had never been held by anyone before.
He didn't know what to do with his free hand-it hovered awkwardly in the air beside her back, unsure whether to push her away or pull her closer.
Aliana whispered into his shoulder. "You're not getting rid of me that easily, curse mark or not. We'll figure it out. Somehow."
Star's breathing hitched.
The warmth of the hug, the comfort, it was a feeling he didn't recognize yet... but for some reason, it didn't terrify him this time.
He didn't hug her back. Didn't speak.
But he also didn't pull away.