Wish Apon A Star

Nicole - More Problems

First thing in the morning, I was already up and dropping about fifteen feet through the air.

When James had bought the inn, Star had taken that as an opportunity to hang her aerial silks. She and Isa had been using them since they were about six, and when I'd decided I'd wanted to learn, Star had practically tackled me to agree. Which had then resulted in an argument about who would be the better teacher–Star or Isa. While I had no doubt Isa was less likely to get me killed, Star had won. So, here I was.

"There you go!" Star cheered when I got down. "See, that one's fun, right?"

"Right." And it had been. I wasn't as scared as I had been the first time–and I had gotten stronger, too. Though it'd been slow at first, and painful, I was finally making actual progress.

I hadn't told Leo what I was doing, even though I'd been doing it for several months. I doubted it was on his Leo Approved activities list, because dropping yourself fifteen feet probably met exactly zero of those requirements. While I knew he didn't care what I did, so long as I was safe, I still couldn't ignore the nagging feeling in the back of my mind that said he would be mad at me.

"You can be done," Star said, "for today. I don't want to kill you or anything–I have a feeling Leo would not be happy with me." I gave her a tiny smile and started for the door. "And, hey, Nicole?" I turned. "Good job today."

I smiled. "Thanks. For, you know, everything."

"No problem. I am pretty great, after all."

I just shook my head. No wonder she and Annabelle got along so well.

"Hey, you," Leo said, when I passed him on the stairs. "Where have you been so early?"

"Just with Star," I said. "Working out." It wasn't wrong.

"Just don't overdo it," he said. He hugged me, giving my ponytail a slight tug as he did.

"I'm all gross," I protested.

"I don't care." He kissed the top of forehead. "I'm going to make muffins; come back down when you're ready. Love you."

Ten minutes later, I was back in the kitchen with him, eating a blueberry muffin. Both of us were quiet, the sun just coming through the windows, striped yellow lines across the floor. It wasn't an awkward kind of quiet, though–it felt good. Peaceful. Almost the entire house was still asleep, and it felt almost like we were in some sort of in between. And I wanted to stay there.

Leo's birthday had been almost a month ago, and I'd left the sketchbook on his bed for him, when he'd been downstairs. I'd managed to rope Annabelle (who was good at baking if it involved sugar) into helping me make a cake, instead of buying one. It had actually turned out okay–even if the frosting looked interesting, because I'd let Annabelle and James do most of that while I'd cleaned up, only realizing my mistake when it was too late. Annabelle's had been the week after, and I'd spent days trying to twist beads and other bits and pieces of old jewelry I'd found cheaply into something that looked almost presentable. Real, good quality jewelry had been completely unaffordable, but I'd just tried to make do with what I could find. If she'd noticed–or cared–she didn't comment. Leo had been able to handle the baking for her birthday, so she got an actually presentable and good-tasting strawberry cake.

The days stretched into summer–long, bright, and warm. Everyone seemed more relaxed and happier, and summer sales and festivals were already beginning in town. Annabelle had begun to beg to go, but I was only interested in one–the light show, where witches and wizards from around the kingdom would arrive to put on a performance–and Leo had promised to take me. I was sure I'd get dragged to a bunch of others with Annabelle, anyway.

Just then, Annabelle bounded into the kitchen and announced, "I smell muffins." The light caught the red, bejeweled flower clip she'd twisted up her hair with, which she'd matched with a red tank top. As always, Annabelle looked effortlessly pretty, the kind that made almost every girl she encountered want to be her. Sometimes, I did, too, but not because of her looks–I wanted her confidence. She took a giant bite and swallowed (while she and James may have had similar opinions on food, Annabelle, at least, had manners), and said, "This is really good."

"Thanks," Leo said, bemused. "What are you doing up so early? It's only seven-thirty."

"Oh my God, is it really?" She glanced at the clock to confirm this, like she couldn't believe she was up, either. "I am so bragging to James about this. Do you think I could convince him we had a bet going on?" We both stared at her. "I think I will. Anyway, I smelled muffins. So, naturally, I had to come down to see."

"Of course," Leo said. He had been about to say something else when the screaming started up. I jumped off the counter, and Leo took my hand, whether to steady me or himself, I wasn't sure.

"Sorry," Zoe said sheepishly, when we came into the living room to see what was wrong. "That was a tiny bit dramatic. But we still have a problem. A really bad problem. A you're-not-going-to-like-this-at-all problem."

"Spit it out," James grumbled. He'd appeared at the top of the stairs, the screaming apparently enough to wake him, which was honestly surprising. Usually, he slept like the dead.

"Prison break," she said. We stared at her blankly. "Okay, you know how Jack's desperately been trying to get news–any news?" We nodded. "And you know how you sent him down to that Owen guy the other day, to see if there was any work he could do? And how he was going to apply as a guard in the castle?" This cued more nodding. "And how he promised to report back to us?"

"Zoe," James said impatiently. "Of course we know. Just say it."

"He's just sent this," she said, waving around a tiny bit of paper that I assumed was 'this', "and says there's supposed to be some sort of prison break. They want people to work as guards or something–he's not really sure. The point is, they're breaking out a bunch of criminals and thugs."

"We're criminals," James said. "Technically."

"Technically," Annabelle said. "It makes all the difference."

Not really."

"It does so–"

"Enough," Leo interrupted. "This is bad. We need to do something. Fast."

"I vote for exploding things!" James cheered.

"You know what," Leo said slowly. He was making his Thinking Face. "Maybe."

Word Count: 1,134