Butterflies

This story starts near the end of Stellarlune. The story has mentions of abuse, descriptions of violence and/or blood. View discretion advised. (The story isn't that much worse than the actual series in this regard, but I still recommend 10+ just because) The story is sort of an experiment, so I apologize for any weird formatting or pauses in updates. The first 3 chapters are a test to see if anyone responds lol. :)

**Chapter 1**

Orange sunlight painted the wall, crawling slowly upward. Katherine had been sitting there all day, watching the light as it grew and then faded. She had nothing better to do. Homework finished, chores finished, she was left to sit at her table staring at nothing. She liked to call it her “me time”. A cup of coffee, long since cold and forgotten, rested on the table near her hand. Katherine was expecting her friend to come around this time, so they could finish a project together. But Aiden was notoriously late, only bursting through the door an hour after he was supposed to arrive with a smile on his face as if nothing had happened. He hadn’t arrived yet, which left Katherine to sit alone at the table. She never had the heart to tell her friend how much she hated his spontaneity. So she waited, watching her reflection in the mirror on the door. Green eyes stared back at her. Long, brown hair that seemed to glow gold in the sunset.
She marveled at the colors. Watched them grow and shift as the sun moved. She wished she could paint them, but knew she would never be able to get them quite right. She was afraid by painting them, she would destroy the beauty and life that seemed to seep from the hues and colors. She wondered-
The door burst open with a snap. No knock. No warning. She was on her feet, fists balled, heart pounding. The coffee mug rolled on the table, dangerously close to the edge. There was a lamp on the desk, and probably a pair of scissors in the drawer. If she could reach it in time-
“I have arrived!” A voice announced. Aiden stood in the doorway, grinning at her. His smile faded slowly as he noticed her position, how tightly her hands were clenched. “You okay Kat?”
“What? Yeah I’m fine.” Katherine said. You know him. He’s your friend. You’re safe.
*Safe.*
Safe.
Safe.
*She repeated the word as she plastered a smile across her face.*
“You surprised me. That’s all.” Aiden studied her a second longer, but let it drop. He threw his bag on the ground. Katherine’s eye twitched. He knew how much the mess drove her insane, and yet chose to completely ignore the hooks on the wall for his bag.
Aiden wandered around the kitchen, rifling through the drawers and cabinets. His eyes darted to the spilled coffee.
“Uh Kat? Your coffee?” Kat threw a glance at the dripping mess. She sighed.
“Your fault. If you decided to knock every once and a while-“
“I beg to differ.” He scoffed, grabbing some paper towels. “It’s not my fault you leave half-full coffee mugs all over the apartment.” He tossed the roll to her, and she started to lay the paper towels over the spilled coffee.
“It’s MY apartment. I can do whatever I want.” Aiden walked over and began to help clean the mess. Katherine flicked his arm. “Besides, you’re nearly as bad.” She inclined her head toward his backpack crumpled on the floor. “You leave a trail of disorder everywhere you go. If I ever lose you in a crowd, all I have to do is follow-” a wet piece of paper towel splattered across her cheek. Katherine whipped her head towards Aiden, squawking in outrage. He had another ready, flicking the coffee soaked paper toward her face. She ducked, nearly avoiding the little piece of paper. Katherine tried to glare at him, but a smile kept trying to curl at her lips. He grinned down at her, dark skin glowing in the sunset.
“Why are you here?” She asked, wiping the paper towel from her cheek and standing back up. He shrugged.
“You tell me. You’re the one who invited me here, claiming you ‘didn’t want to fail history’.” Katherine snorted. She was very, VERY far from failing history. She had always excelled in school. “Excelled” was putting it lightly. The school had wanted to move her up a few grades. Her mom had refused, saying she was fine where she was and that they were overestimating Katherine’s ability. Katherine had tried to lie low ever since, but it was always so impossibly easy to pass her classes. She barely had to think about the homework or focus in class. She was just good at it.
“Come on idiot. We still have to make the presentation for our project and YOU still have to finish researching.” She scooped up the wet paper towel and dumped it in the trash, then led him to the living room. Katherine plopped down on the rug, then stared at him expectantly. Aiden sighed, dropping down next to her.
“Where should we begin?” He asked.
“YOU can begin by grabbing your laptop and finishing the research you should have done a week ago.” She grumbled, picking up her own laptop and opening up google slides. “Don’t talk to me until you’re done with it.” She ignored his whining and set to work as the sun slowly set outside.

The buildings of New York never ceased to amaze Katherine. No matter how long she lived here, she could never get over the glass skyscrapers and brick walls and concrete that stretched far, far into the sky. Katherine had been saving up for a car for a long time, but between paying her rent and her everyday needs, it was going to be a while before she could drive. So she walked.
The sidewalk crunched beneath her sneakers. All around her, people bustled and moved. Cars honked. Construction workers shouted. Machinery beeped and clanged. Katherine basked in the sounds, so different from the suffocating quiet of her childhood home. If you could even call in a home. The tiny, one bedroom apartment had been all she’d known until she was 13 years old. Her mom had made Katherine sleep on the couch, while she had slept in the bedroom. Katherine shoved the memories away. She didn’t want to think about it.
A car honked, startling her out of her trance. She stepped off the road and back onto the sidewalk. She had almost stepped into oncoming traffic. Pale and embarrassed, she stood waiting for the sign to cross.
She glanced at her watch, cursing. She had 10 minutes to get to school before she was late.
Walking faster now, she hurried by buildings she would normally stop to gawk at. Across streets, sidewalks blended together. Katherine glanced down at her watch again. She would have to take the shortcut through a few alleys. She turned at a large dumpster, nearly avoiding a puddle. Katherine was almost on the highschool campus. Aiden was waiting for her, sitting on a bench smiling 100 feet away. She was almost there-
Strong, swift arms reached around her middle and yanked her back. She fell backward, onto something warm. Someone warm. Rough hands covered her mouth with a cloth, holding her arms to her sides. A sickeningly sweet aroma wafted up her nose. She was trapped. She was stuck. She couldn’t move. The world around her blurred. Panic froze her to the spot. It was her mom. Her mom must have come back for her. She was taking Katherine back to the dark closet. She was taking her back to the suffocation. The quiet. The pain. Katherine wouldn’t escape again-
Shut up. Think.
Katherine lunged forward, struggling. But whatever drug they had made her movements sluggish and slow.
Don’t give up. This is such a stupid way to die. Killed by someone you can’t even see?
Katherine tried. She really did. But her body fought against her. She slumped into the person’s arms, too tired to move. The cloth was removed from her mouth. She saw the opportunity and tried to struggle. To run. To fight. To do anything. But her body just twitched a little, and the world faded more. She caught movement out of the corner of her eye. Aiden, phone to his ear, running toward her. The last thing she saw was the panic in his eyes before the world disappeared and she sunk into oblivion.

**Chapter 2**

Katherine didn’t know if she was awake. She didn’t know if she was asleep. She couldn’t open her eyes. Could barely breathe. The ropes around her were too tight. Ropes. She was tied to a chair. Panic clawed at her chest, forcing her into consciousness. She couldn’t breathe. She couldn't see. She gasped for breath, fighting against her bindings. She was trapped again, and this time she didn’t know where. Far away, she could hear grumbling. Whispers. People talking. Not her mom. Not her mom. Not her mom.

Pain shot through her cheek, throwing her head to the side.

“Quiet.” Was all he said. He had slapped her. He had slapped her. Blood pooled in her mouth as anger like she had never known burned through her. Burned. She spat at her kidnapper, blood dripping down her chin. A startled laugh from the man. Then laughter from behind him. A hand gripped her chin. It burned, as if his very skin was on fire. “Careful darling. Wouldn’t want to ruin that pretty face.” He gripped hard, and a startled cry clawed up her throat. His hand was so hot. It was burning her. “When I tell you something.” He whispered, his voice closer. “You do it.” Then the burning was gone, replaced with cold air. She gasped for breath as her chin stung. As if he truly had burnt her. But that wasn’t possible. Was it?

A cloth pressed against her nose. No. She wasn’t going under again. She wouldn’t. She would fight, she would-

The world was gone before she could finish the thought.

She faded in and out of consciousness. Each minute, each hour, each day, it all blended together. The oblivion had no beginning, no end.  She simply floated, blissfully unaware of anything and everything. How much time had passed? She did not know, did not care. She did not want to wake up again, to pain and torture and whatever else was in store for her. So she just floated.

She was awoken by whispering. It took her a long time to resurface, and every second it was a battle to remain awake. Her face still burned where the kidnapper had touched her, but it had lessened.

She tried to move to touch her chin, but was met only with rope. Fighting down panic, Katherine strained her ears in an attempt to eavesdrop.

“You dealt with the boy?” The voice of the man who had burned her.

“Yes. There were no other witnesses.”

“Good.” There was a pause.

“Is it worth it to erase the family’s memories?”

“No. They’re just humans. It’s too risky to send in a washer.” Another pause.

“Should we be more careful talking around her?”

“Doesn’t matter. She’s never getting out of here.”

The rest faded, and Katherine pushed herself back into conscientiousness. The whispering had quieted. She couldn’t bring herself to think about the words, not when her head spun so violently. So she allowed herself to sink back into the darkness.

“Hello darling.”

The sticky, raspy voice dragged Katherine awake again. She blinked, her eyelashes fluttering against the blindfold.

“How are you holding up?” Panic once again bloomed in her chest as she struggled against the bonds. She opened her mouth, but only a rasp came out. He laughed.

“So she speaks. Color me surprised.” His hot breath caressed her ear, and she jerked away from it. But there was a hand holding her head still.

“Do you know…” he whispered into her ear, voice guttural. “who you are?” She stayed silent. “Answer me.” he hissed.

“No.” she coughed, gasping as pain racked down her throat from the effort. His dark laughter filled the room.

“You, my beautiful darling, are a failure.” A finger stroked the back of her hand, and she tried to recoil at the touch.

“That’s why you’re here. The people that made you… they don’t care about what happens to you. They won’t come.” The finger circled around her wrist, playing with the tight bindings that pinned her to the chair.

“They’re distracted. All they care about is their precious little birdy.” A chuckle. “You belong to us now.”

“Who.” She rasped.

“Who? Who are we? Who are you? Who are they? You’re going to have to be a little more specific, I’m afraid.”

“Who… are… you?”

He laughed, then leaned next to her again. Breath tickling the shell of her ear, he whispered.

“Call us the Neverseen.” Pain shot through her arm as he twisted her wrist so that her palm faced the sky, and she let out a startled cry. Then something pressed into her palm.

Pain like she had never known burned through her hand. It turned her blood to electricity. Turned her bones and muscles to lava. A scream clawed up her throat, turning into a shriek as he pressed down harder. Then as fast as it had come, the brand was gone. But the pain lingered. It intertwined with her skin, a scar that went far, far deeper than the burn. A door slammed shut, but she could barely hear it. She knew in the silence that followed that she was going to die here. She would never see the sunlight again. Never hear Aiden’s smile or see him laugh.

Katherine was sure she was crying, but she had lost feeling in her face. Sobs wracked her body, straining against the rope. She shook so hard that the chair beneath her rattled.

Katherine didn’t know how long she cried. Minutes, hours, days. It all blended together. But eventually, her sobs quieted. The despair was replaced by something else. Anger.

How dare they touch me.

How dare they hurt me.

Once it started, she couldn’t stop it. Anger consumed her, a never ending flame that burned through her heart and bones and blood.

They hurt Aiden.

This quieted her anger for a second, and sorrow started to seep back in. They killed him. They killed her friend.

She was shaking again, but this time it wasn’t from sadness. It was from anger.

The room seemed to heat, like the flames of anger that she felt were leaking into the real world. She stoked the fire, adding her pain and sadness into the mix until she couldn’t feel anything else, until smoke stung her nose and-

Her chair collapsed from under her. The ropes around her wrists fell away. She lay still for a second shaking, and then her survival instincts kicked in. She ripped away the blindfold, eyes burning from days of darkness, and beheld her prison.

She was in a room full of flames, and they were about to consume her whole.

**Chapter Three**

For the first minute, she panicked.

Smoke clawed into her lungs, clouding her face and making her eyes water. She dropped to the hard rock floor, her legs and arms groaning from days of abuse. Flame licked her ankles, and she startled back. But paused. The flames did not burn. The flames didn’t burn.

Confusion clouded her mind. That wasn’t possible. Was it adrenaline? But they didn’t leave a mark. She wasn’t being burned by them.

Katherine pushed her thoughts aside and took inventory of her surroundings. Rocky walls, like the inside of a cave. And a door. But it was behind a wall of flames, only the top half visible through the smoke and fire. She lay on her stomach for a second assessing the situation. If she stayed still, she was going to die anyway.

She jumped to her feet and ran for the door, tripping over her unused legs, still drowsy from the drugs in her system. Flames licked at her pants, but nothing burnt her. She didn't have time to think as she tried the door knob, and flinched. It was burning hot, stinging her branded right hand. So instead she threw herself against the door, clawing at the wood. Desperation started to seep in when the door didn’t budge. Katherine put all of her strength into it. Again and again, she rammed into the door.

BANG

BANG

BANG

Tears, either from the smoke or from her desperation seeped down her face.

She was going to die in this room. The flames would consume her, or she’d suffocate from the smoke.

BANG

BANG

BANG

She threw all of her power and emotion and strength into the door, reaching into her gut and pushing, pushing, pushing-

With a cry, Katherine was sent sprawling through the door as it splintered into a million pieces. Smoke billowed from the room, flames already starting to burn into the hallway. She didn’t think about the impossibility of it.

The room she had been in was one of many in a long hallway. She picked a direction and ran. Then she heard the shouting.

People yelling at each other, the sounds of footsteps. Katherine turned left, then right, then another right, and ran straight into a group of hooded figures in black cloaks. She froze. So did they. They stood there for a moment, just looking at each other.

Katherine came to her senses first. Why aren’t they attacking? She glanced down, and to her shock flames licked at her shoes. She could feel the heat, but they didn’t burn her or her clothes. She glanced behind her and beheld the fiery landscape that she had left behind.

Everywhere that Katherine’s feet had touched the group, there was a burnt footprint surrounded by fire. Flames crawled up the walls like huge monsters stalking prey, crackling and snapping at the ceiling. Then one of the figures yelled.

“The whole place is gonna come down!”

Another shouted: “Someone grab her!” But no one ran for her. Instead they scattered, running down other hallways. All except for one. He lunged toward her, arm reaching-

Katherine only hesitated a second. Then she turned around, and ran straight through the flames.

The fire didn’t hurt. The heat was oppressive, and smoke stung her eyes and nose to the point of pain, but she didn’t get burnt. She didn’t stick long enough around to find out how long it would take for the fire to start to hurt.

Left, right, right, left. She ran through the burning hallways. It was getting hotter. The ceiling above her groaned. That didn’t seem like a good sign. She passed doors upon doors, but none looked promising. It was like running through a maze.

Katherine glanced behind her. No one was there. So she kept running. And then she heard the screams.

Screams of agony and panic. Louder than even the roaring flames. She paused, more tears streaming down her face, sizzling on the burning ground. Pain started to seep onto her skin. Too long. She’d been in the fire too long. She started to run again. Straight into a dead end. Rocky wall, framed with burning wooden beams. But the wall seemed strange to her. Like it didn’t belong. Her eyes couldn’t seem to focus on it, as if it was blurred. That could have been the smoke, but Katherine still put her hand up to the cold stone. Cold. In a burning room. And to her prue shock, her hand sunk right through the stone. She shoved more of her arm through, and her hand met fresh air. Fresh air! She pushed the rest of her body through. It felt as if sand was pouring past her face, rolling off her skin. And then she was out, stumbling onto a cold grassy ground. Grass. Fresh, cold air rushed down her throat and flooded her lungs. Blinding sunlight stung her eyes, and she would have cried from happiness if she had any more tears left to give. And then the pain set in, fast and hard. Her hand ached where they had branded her. The rest of her body blazed, as if still on fire. Then she realized. Burned. She was most likely burnt everywhere. She had run out of luck in the tunnels, and the heat from the flames had finally gotten to her. She collapsed onto the cold grass, exhaustion setting it. She was so tired. She just wanted to fall asleep…

Someone were shouting in the distance, calling. No, the kidnappers were back, coming to take her away. She forced her eyes open. It took every ounce of strength to get to her feet, her body screaming in pain and exhaustion. She would not go with them this time. She would light herself back on fire, like a freaking human torch if it meant they didn’t take her again.

She saw the people first. Elegant and beautiful, striding through the area in uniforms. Around her age, younger and older. Then her focus turned toward the two people standing near her.

Katherine jumped away, hissing at the pain in her legs. She grabbed a stick from the ground, brandishing it like a weapon. The boy in front of her looked so worried. She didn’t believe it. Any of these people could have been the person who branded her. They could have been wearing the dark cloaks, could have tied her up. But… they were all children, which didn’t make sense. Maybe-

“Did you just come out of the wall?” Katherine whipped her head toward the person who asked, a cute boy with strawberry blond hair and periwinkle eyes. She didn’t answer.

“Shut up, Dex.” Said the other. She stepped forward, graceful and beautiful. Easily the most beautiful girl Katherine had ever seen, with teal eyes and dark brown hair. Her eyebrows were knitted with worry as she scanned Katherine’s torn, burnt clothes and skin. Her face paled as she noticed the raw brand on Katherine’s right palm.

“Dex. Go get Elwin.” The girl whispered.

“But-” The boy, Dex, said.

“Go get him!” The girl snapped. Dex stole a second glance at Katherine, and then turned and hurried in a different direction. The girl’s face was now deathly pale, and Katherine wondered if she might faint.

Only then did Katherine’s surroundings set in. They were standing in a huge courtyard area. About 100 feet away a huge glass pyramid reached into the sky, surrounded by 8 tall colorful towers. She gawked at the glass and building and purple grass?

“What happened to you?” The girl whispered, inching closer to Katherine. Katherine whipped her head back to the girl, raising her stick, prepared to hurl it at the girl if she so much as took another step.

“You tell me.” She rasped. Her throat felt like sandpaper. The girl flinched at the sound of her voice. Katherine supposed that was fair, considering how raw and scratchy it sounded.

“Ok,” the girl took a deep breath. “What’s your name?” Katherine eyed her for a second.

“Tell me yours.”

“Biana.” No pause, no hesitation. Katherine weighed her options, then spoke.

“Katherine.” She said, and Biana blinked at her.

“That’s…” she swallowed. “That’s a human name.”

Katherine was about to open her mouth to ask what she meant when Dex rushed over, followed by a man with wavy brown hair and huge glasses. Katherine flinched from him, seizing up as he came closer. He stopped, noting the stick in her hand.

“Hey. I’m Elwin. I haven’t seen you around.” His smile was wide, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. Still, Katherine relaxed slightly when his voice didn’t sound like the kidnappers. She didn’t lower the stick.

“You’ve got some impressive burns.” He said gesturing to the raw welts along her arms and legs. “If you let me take care of them, then they’ll be a lot less painful.”

She almost agreed just because of that. Her whole body ached and stung, and it was an effort to remain standing. But she didn’t trust these people.

“Seriously, if you don’t let me treat those wounds they’re going to scar.” He said, his voice becoming more serious. She hesitated, then slowly lowered the stick.  When none of them made a move, she dropped it to the ground.

“Ok.” She rasped. She let him slowly lead her across the grass and to a room. People gawked at her, whispering and staring as they went. Elwin led her through the door and into a white room full of cots.

Shelves of vials, tins, and salves lined the walls, along with books and papers. Two picture frames hung on the wall with pictures of a girl and boy in strange costumes. Kathrine let Elwin lead her to a bed as Biana started pacing in the back. The man sat her down and bustled off to another room. Dex just sat down a few cots away and stared at her. She was too tired to care. It was an effort not to just fall onto the cot and pass out. She wondered if the drugs were still in her system.

Elwin hurried over again with vials of different creams and solutions and snapped his fingers. and a glowing orb formed around her arm. She startled so hard that the orb popped and she nearly fell off the bed. Elwin looked at her, concerned.

“What-” she gasped, “was that.” Elwin’s face paled, and he glanced over to Biana and Dex. Biana nodded.

“She has a human name.” Biana said.

“What does my name have to do with anything?” Katherine hissed, scotting away from Elwin. But he offered a vial to her.

“Drink.” He ordered. Katherine almost laughed.

“I’m not that stu-”

“Drink.” He insisted. She stared him down for a moment, then grabbed the bottle and popped the lid off. Easily one of the stupidest things she’d ever done. But something about his wide glasses and messy hair made her want to trust him. So she took a swig of the liquid. Her eyes widened at the sweet taste, like drinking nectar from a flower. It glided down her throat, cooling and soothing as it went. She drained the rest of the bottle.

“Better?” Elwin asked. He snapped his fingers, and a blue orb appeared above them. “Now that you can talk, tell me why your throat was damaged from smoke.” Biana sucked in a breath from across the room.

“I… was trapped.” Katherine hesitated. She still didn’t know if she could trust these people. Elwin nodded, edging her on.

“I was going to school.” Katherine whispered.

“And they grabbed me.” All the color seemed to drain from Elwin’s face, and Biana stopped pacing.

“Who grabbed you.” Elwin asked.

“I…” Katherine’s throat closed up, remembering the person who had burned her. She looked down at her hand, seeing the brand for the first time.

Elwin sucked in a sharp breath and Dex seemed to recoil from the symbol. Biana gasped.

Branded onto her hand was an eye in a circle.

“They called themselves…the Neverseen.”