Our Forbidden Love 2

24: Alexander

Starley and I didn't find anything in the Records Room about seeing my weird 'worst memories' and we were led to believe that it was just a nightmare thing and actually had nothing to do with magic at all.

Looking for information in the Records Room and her upsetting vision from last night has made Starley really tired. Together we go from the Records Room back to her house. She lies down in her bed and I decide to tuck her in.
"What are you going to do?" she asks. "I'm sorry to be leaving you, I don't know why I'm so tired."
"Baby, it's okay. I don't know why you're tired either but sleep will help. I'll think of something to do, don't worry about me."
Starley yawns.
"And that is why you're sleeping," I say. She laughs. I move her hair off her forehead, and gently pull on one of the strands.
"Ow!" she says.
"Sorry Starley. I was attached," I apologise. Not a total lie, and besides she'd find out soon enough anyway. I kiss her on her forehead and then I leave the room, letting my girl get some much needed sleep.

***

I swim to Government House from Starley's bedroom but I don't enter the building like I had a million times before. Instead, I go around the side of the building and try my best not to be seen by anyone who's working. Once I've finally finished swimming around to the back of the building, I begin to swim down the trench that's behind it. This trench is deep and quite wide, but I keep swimming. This is for Starley. Once I reach the bottom, large purple doors face me, but they're already open. I gingerly push them open and call out, "anyone there?" No one responds and I take that as an invitation to swim through. As I do, the candles start lighting again and I'm so confused on how they're managing to stay alight. I go straight to the coral desk towards the back of the room. Just as I'd hoped, the spell Starley had used to visit me was lying open on the now unused desk. I pick up the recipe and read through the ingredients. It doesn't look to hard and I begin searching the many shelves on the wall for the correct bottles. Once I collect everything, I find two empty vials and place them beside the caldron.

I'd made cookies a million times before and my human mother was a chef, but baking was one thing. Creating a spell that could easily go wrong and kill me just for Starley's birthday was another. Still, I carefully followed the million-step recipe and added every ingredient precisely. There was no, 'it doesn't matter if there's an extra three grams of sugar' this time. Everything had to be exact. I add the strand of hair I'd managed to get from her and the pot bubbles and spits. Seeing as the spell was for both of us, and that Starley had already lost a finger to this spell, I cut off my own left pinky, just like hers and wistfully watch it fall into the dark depths of the pot. Again, the pot bubbles and spits at me and protectively I throw my hands up against my face, but then a purple bubble appears and anything spat out of the pot bounces off it. I take my hands down and the bubble disappears. That was weird. Slowly the liquid in the pot turns to a bright, lime green colour. I hold onto one of the vials and reach into the caldron, to fill it up. My hand will touch the liquid, but I don't have a problem with it. But when I expected my hand to touch it, it doesn't. Another purple bubble has appeared around my hand, but not around the vial. With this method I'm able to fill up both vials and put the little cork stopper in the tops of them.

Holding both the little glass vials filled with lime green spell, I leave Weedy's cavern behind me and make my way out of the trench and back to Starley's bedroom. I hide the vials where I know she won't look in between now and next week. Starley is lying on the bed fast asleep and I slide next to her and push my face into her curly, coconut hair.
"I love you so much babygirl. Just wait till my birthday; it'll be my birthday but you'll get the biggest surprise and the best present of all," I whisper. She doesn't hear me and is still fast asleep. Deciding to take a leaf out of her book, I close my eyes and slowly, sleep takes me into its arms, and Fate feeds me dreams of Starley.

***

Starley Star-Bub, tail dyed white for the occasion, holding a colourful bouquet of coral, Walter Star-Bub leading her down the aisle. Her smiling brightly at Alexander Stonal (soon-to-be Alexander Star-Bub) at the opposite end of the aisle.

Lilliana Dun-Hill handing Starley Star-Bub her newborn baby. Alexander Star-Bub coming to stand beside her, affectionately places his arms around her shoulders. Both of them look at the baby, so beautiful.

Starley Star-Bub and Alexander Stonal lying together in a bed, naked, sweaty and out of breath.

Alexander Stonal looking at himself in the mirror trying to decide whether he's good enough to deserve Starley's virginity.

Starley Star-Bub telling herself over and over that it's okay. "He'll take care of everything, I've never done this before, but then neither has he. What if it hurts? What if he hurts me?"

***