Prince of Stars

Chapter Three: Star Boy

    Asha continued to think about her and her little brother's talk the night before. Magnifico's cruelty only seemed to show in front of Raimundo. Even though she failed to show it, Asha had her own feelings about the wishes that her pseudo-father contained. To clear her mind of such thoughts, she wandered into the King's lab and stared at his prized spell book hidden behind a glass casing. No matter how many times she's seen it, she's never thought about it until now. Just as she was about to tap the glass or even open it to get a closer look, Magnifico cleared his throat behind her, causing her to whirl around in shock. "That book is forbidden, Asha. You know that." the king stood far away from her with his hands behind his back and his shoulders squared. His expression seemed tired but at the same time completely emotionless. Asha tried her best to come off as innocent. "I...didn't," but it didn't go as well as she would have hoped. "I mean I did, but it's not like I was gonna touch it or anything," she laughed to herself as Magnifico approached her. "Of course not," he replied sarcastically. There was a bit of silence between the two before Asha spoke again. "Look," she sighed. "It'd be great if you could, Y'know, lay off Raimundo for failing the whole ceremony thing. It's really getting to him." Magnifico lowered his eyebrows. "He's none of your concern,"
"I-I know, but-" Asha paused when she remembered something that may change Magnifico's view. The night before she had seen Raimundo's scar from the knife. But to Asha, that didn't make any sense. Raimundo would never deliberately hurt himself. Right? "I think you already got to him," the king stared at Asha, confused. "What?" he asked. Asha didn't reply, not knowing if Raimundo would find out if she told him. "Nothing." the king turned back around. "Asha," he said. "Wishes are this family's responsibility. If he doesn't learn soon, this monarchy will lose all of its power." even though Asha was still confused about why Magnifico was sparing her, she continued to stand her ground. "Raimundo is a boy, his needs are very important." for the very first time in a while, Asha began to get protective of her brother. The last time something like that happened was so vague that Asha couldn't remember the entire story. "His needs or your wants?" Magnifico tightened his fists. "He deserves more, the people of Rosas deserve more-"
"I decide what everyone deserves!" he snapped turning to Asha with fury pooling on his face. Asha took a step back, shocked.

Later that night, Asha thought deeply to herself and reminded herself of how cold Magnifico was to her, her brother, and the Queen, she assumed. "I wish there was someone better than him," Asha whispered to herself as she stared up into the stars. She saw a beam in Orion's hoof glimmer at her and the entire kingdom of Rosas. Asha sat up and narrowed her eyes while the star's glow seemed like a sheet of white. Asha turned back for a mere second, only to turn around and see the strangest thing she had ever seen. The star had turned into a teenage boy and was floating in the air upside down, staring at her with curiosity. The boy's hair was florescent like the colors of the sun, his face was covered in freckles, and had a black and solar-themed Cape that draped over his back and down to his feet. Asha nearly shrieked at the sudden sight but calmed at the softness of the boy's appearance. "Hi..." she said, slightly shaken. The boy smiled before dropping to his feet. The boy stuck his hand out and when Asha hesitantly stuck hers out, he kissed it. Asha laughed nervously, still confused. Suddenly, his head toward turned the palace. "What?" instead of responding, he turned into a glowing jackal and sniffed the air in the castle's direction. "What the hell?" Asha whispered to herself. In what seemed like a second, the boy turned back, and put his hands on his hips, satisfied. Asha stared as he turned into a horse and nearly bolted towards the castle. "Hey!" Asha screamed. "Where do you think you're going?" grinning, to himself, the boy trotted over to Asha and forced her onto his back before running back to the palace. "No! No, no, no!" Asha protested. But it was no use.

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"What do you think you're doing?" the boy from the sky, who was now a small rabbit peeked through Raimundo's bedroom window. "Look, there's nothing in there for you, that's just my brother, and yeah, he's sleeping, shocker," Asha stated sarcastically. "Can we- or more or less you, go now?" the boy didn't budge. Luckily, he was in a smaller form, so Asha grabbed him and picked him up off the floor. "Asha?" without even looking at who called her, Asha shoved the boy into the room behind her and closed the door. "Who are you talking to?" it was the Queen. "I- nobody." Amaya tisked. "I wish my children would stop lying to me," she said, slight irritation in my voice. Asha looked to the side, not knowing how to respond. "Or for my husband to accept his feelings, but, I suppose I'm the only one who doesn't get her wishes granted or her prayers answered," Amaya stepped closer to her daughter. "But I'm going to ask you one last time, what are you hiding from me?" Asha was frozen in place. So much so that she didn't realize the boy jumped out of the room and in front of Amaya. The Queen wouldn't have taken it that seriously if he hadn't turned back to his boy self in front of her. "¿qué demonios?" the boy, understanding her swears, furrowed his eyebrows. "Please help me," Asha pleaded. She knew the King wouldn't, and she knew Raimundo probably didn't want to be bothered, so, The Queen was her best choice. And she'd take it any day.