The star that has to choose

Maia had never seen anything so wonderful. They rode through a couple of little towns that sold all kinds of different clothing, sweets, baked goods, jewelry, fresh produce, and hot meals. She wanted to stop at every single one but decided not to mention it.

As she looked away from the town, she saw where they were headed. It was so grand she couldn't process it. The building was so large and had so many different sections. It was made of brick and had plenty of windows so whoever lived there would have plenty of natural light. It was guarded by a large black gate and some guards in uniform, fully armed.

Once they made it through the gate, she saw a large lake to her right with a nice wooden bench under a large tree so she could sit and watch the water. There were dirt paths that lead to different areas. One went to the lake, one went to the garden on the left and the other went to different areas.

The garden was something she had never even dreamt of. Flowers bloomed everywhere, fresh produce growing tall and strong. People were out tending to the garden, watering and weeding and planting and fertilizing. All of it was too much for Maia to take in.

This was all nothing compared to what she was going to see once she went through the large doors that led inside. It was solid oak, with handles made from solid gold. Guards stood everywhere outside and once the car had parked someone dressed in all black immediately opened the door and held out his hand to help her out.

"Madam." He said with a slight bow to his head. He looked no older than she was, and Maia was overtaken by joy as a gust of wind blew past, tossing her hair everywhere.

Pulling her hair out of her face, she looked around with a large smile.

"I live here now?" she asked Mr. Sween.

"Yes, sweetheart," he responded, watching her enjoy being outside.

She stepped off the paved driveway and stepped into the perfectly green grass. The wind blew her hair and the sun burned her eyes but she couldn't stop smiling.

"Would you like to come inside and see where you're sleeping?" Mr. Sween motioned to the castle. A million different emotions swept over Maia. She was instantly brought back into the attic, lying on the cold wood, all alone. She simply nodded and followed Mr. Sween into a side door.

She prepared herself for what she was about to walk into. Would it be another attic? They started walking down a flight of stairs and Maia's heart rate quickened. They were going into the basement.

The stairs led to two separate rooms.

"Mine and my wife's room is here on the left. Yours is on the right." Mr. Sween said, opening the door to her room.

Maia took a deep breath and walked in behind him.

There was a bed with warm and soft blankets and a couple of pillows to her left and to the right, there was a vanity complete with a mirror and stool to her right. On the back wall was a simple wooden dresser. For it to have dark stone walls, the room was surprisingly bright.

Maia slowly walked over to the bed and sat down. It was much comfier than the one from the orphanage and the blankets were so soft. She watched as Mr. Sween unpacked her things from the suitcase and placed them all in the dresser.

"You get yourself comfortable. I'll come to get you when it's time for supper and I'll be out in the garden if you need me." he stepped out of the room and started to close the door.

"Wait." Maia heard herself call out. Mr. Sween reentered the room.

"Yes?"

"Why did you adopt me?"