Free The Star Plume by Kae Bell

Chapter 1
    As her hummingbirds worked nearby, capturing
color clouds on beating wings, Princess Cressida worked among the
stars. In the distance, she noticed a faint shimmering on the star
field’s edge. Odd, she thought. She did not remember setting a net
so far away. But the color was caught. It glimmered, unlike any
color she had seen.
    Done with her work, she looked again toward
the horizon. The color flashed in a gentle celestial wind.
Intrigued, she walked toward it, stepping from star to star, her
steps long and assured, her dark hair twisted in a low bun at the
nape of her slim neck.
    As Cressida moved toward it, making slow
progress, the color undulated. It wavered first silver then blue
then gold.
    At last she reached the strange color cloud,
which she studied. It was soft, like the other colors, but tougher,
heavier. She scooped it into her catcher bag. She’d look at it more
closely once she got home. It was late and was time to go. She
turned to rejoin the hummingbirds.
    But when she turned, Cressida saw only a vast
field of unfamiliar stars. She had wandered farther than she had
realized. She was alone in a sea of strange starlight.
    Her horse Flyer was nowhere to be seen. She
called his name. But there was no whinny in reply. Nor could she
hear the beat of hummingbird wings.
    Hmmm , she thought. Not part of
today’s plan to be stuck out here alone . She was tired from the
day’s work and her long walk. She wasn’t sure which direction to
go, so she sat down to think on a blue dwarf star that twinkled and
winked at her.
    It was the first time she had sat down all
day. Her muscles ached with relief when she set her heavy cloud
catcher bag down. As Cressida leaned back against the blue rock,
her eyelids grew heavy. She tried not to but she couldn’t help but
doze off in the silent sky.
    She woke. What was that? She sat up when she
heard the sound again. She listened harder. It was soft, but
unmistakable. It made no sense though. Music? Out here?
    As she continued listening, she discerned a
slow, soft tune sung by voices the likes of which she’d never
heard. She didn’t understand their words, but she heard them, many
individual songs blended into a single harmonious sound. She looked
around but there was nothing and no one here except the sky and the
stars.
    The Stars.
    Were singing.
    The ethereal voices soared and fell in a
joyful melody. She had not heard stars sing before. The sound
slowly faded and morphed into what sounded to Cressida like low
laughter. She wondered, crazily, if the stars were laughing at her
for getting lost.
    She heard heavy footsteps, followed by a jangle and a clink . Then again, louder. Someone was
coming. She stood up, brushing stardust off her knees, She peered
into the distance.
    “Hello?” she called out. The night swallowed
her puny voice.
    From behind the blue dwarf, a tall lanky man
appeared, dressed head to toe in a shimmering star suit. On his
head was a vast sparkly cowboy hat, a foot and a half high. His
shiny boots were covered with thick stardust and around the ankles,
heavy silver spurs. With every step, his silver spurs jangled. A
thick ring of keys on his belt made the ‘clink’.
    “Hello little lady. Haven’t seen you 'round
these parts before. Are you lost?”
    “Umm, well yes,” Princess Cressida said and
blinked several times. “I am lost. I’ve been gathering colors.” She
showed the man her bag filled with soft clouds of red, green and
yellow. “And I must have wandered too far. From over there.” She
pointed in a direction that was an endless field of stars. She
turned. “Or maybe over there.” She frowned, confused.
    “Happens now and again, never fear. New folk
lose their way up here, get all kinds of dis-orientated. But you’re
in luck today. This blue dwarf star sent out a distress call when
you set up shop here. So I come to see what was the ruckus.”
    He stuck out his hand.
    “I’m Zav. Short for Xavier. I’m the Star
Wrangler