A Wish

At All Costs

Earendel awoke in a large, cold dungeon cell, with hay covering the floor. He rubbed his head and felt a bump. Great. He sat up, hearing faint voices in the dim distance. One voice was deeper than the others, and he could hear it getting louder and louder, until a tall man stood directly in front of his cell. He had slightly grey hair and a mustache with a goatee. Earendel stood to face him, unafraid. "Where is my daughter," the king demanded. "We were just dining with a family in town. She's probably still there," he answered in defense. "Where? What family?" Earendel immediately regretted bringing Dahlia and her grandfather into the conversation. He didn't want to tell King Magnifico anything more, for fear that he might hurt them in some way. Earendel stayed silent. "Answer me boy," King Magnifico warned. Earendel stood silent in defiance, glaring at the king. King Magnifico turned to the guards. "Leave us." They obeyed and closed the dungeon door behind them. King Magnifico grabbed his staff from the nearby wall and held it out in front of him. Earendel's eyes widened. He could sense that the magic in the king's staff had grown unstable. "You dare to defy a king-" King Magnifico unleashed a strike of dark magic on the boy, electrocuting him with a painful shock. Earendel cried out in pain and fell to the ground, twitching. King Magnifico could feel that there was something unusual about him. He carried magic. Wish magic. "You're...a star." Earendel continued to groan. He balled his hands into a fist and held his stomach to try and squeeze relief into his body, but the pain did not subside. Just as he began to relax, he was struck with another bolt of dark magic from King Magnifico's staff. This time he fell temporarily unconscious. The king could feel his staff getting heavier. He grinned happily and gripped his staff tighter. Earendel's sweat-dampened hair now covered his eyes, but he could still see a blurry image of the king chucking at his newfound power. "You will be...destroyed by this magic if you...stay on this path. You will lose Asha..." Long Magnifico kneeled down to meet Earendel's eyes. Earendel could see that the king's eyes were now a full eerie green. The king smiled at him. "The wishes are mine now. All of them. The stars can all go dark." "No," Earendel begged. The king positioned his staff towards Earendel, who closed his eyes in preparation for the final blow. "Father! Stop!" Asha ran towards them, but King Magnifico used the dark magic to secure her. "Asha!" Earendel yelled. "Father! Look at what you've become! You used to show such respect for the stars, now you're no better than your grandfather!" "The stars themselves are now under my control!" "Asha the magic has consumed him!" Earendel explained, still groaning. "Can you escape?" "My magic...it's gone," Earendel replied. Tears welled up in Asha's eyes. This happened because of her. Somehow...somehow she would make this right. "I know where there is more magic!" Asha yelled to her father. The king eyed her and put her down. "Tell me." Asha had to think of something quick. "In the spell tower. There's a book...I can show it to you." She looked over at Earendel, who was barely able to sit up. He stared at her, confused. "And Earendel, the star, he can translate it." Asha held her hard gaze on the king's eyes, determined to maintain her bluff. King Magnifico tapped his staff of the floor and the cell door opened. Asha ran to Earendel and helped him stand. She led him to the door and up the stairs, the king following close behind. When Asha and Earendel were at the top, Asha waited for King Magnifico to join them, then she gave him a hard push down the stairs and took off with Earendel as fast as she could. King Magnifico tumbled to the bottom of the stairs and growled angrily. His eyes lit up like green fire and his staff burned with angry magic. He jumped back up and ran up the stairs to give chase. Asha charged down the halls and into the kitchen, where the servants and maids were doing laundry. They watched her race to the back door, still dragging Earendel along. "Asha? What's this?" One maid asked. "If the king asks, please tell him you didn't see me. Please!" Asha begged before darting out. The women looked at each other in confusion. Moments later King Magnifico slammed the door open, nostrils flaring. "Where is Asha!" He demanded. None of the maids wanted to lie to the king. Most remained silent, but one young maid with curly red hair spoke up. "I believe I saw her running through the halls my lord," which wasn't a complete lie. King Magnifico growled again and dashed out of the room. Asha was helping Earendel mount a horse when two guards stopped her. "The wishes are in danger! Please!" Asha begged. The guards looked at each other, then met her eyes. One of them, who had been the one to notify the king and queen that Asha was left at the entrance to the palace all those years ago, could see fear in Asha's eyes, and tears welling up in them. He let them go and they charged out of the stables. Asha didn't stop until she made it to the waterfall she had found earlier that evening. She helped Earendel up to the cliff and sat him down by the tree. Both were out of breath and shaking. Earendel began to chuckle. "I didn't know being a human was this much fun." He looked over and saw Asha burst into tears. He didn't say anything. He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "My father is gone. My kingdom is gone. Your powers are gone. Everything that was is gone!" Asha continued to weep bitterly. "It's just a pattern repeating itself. We'll fix this. I promise." "No," Asha said, wiping her tears and standing up. "I will fix this. You need to go home." "What?" Earendel stood up in shock, but felt faint and stumbled against the tree trunk. Asha looked away from him. "Go home. You can't help me anymore. Your powers are gone. Go back to your own world." "Asha I am not leaving you to face that monster by yourself!" "He's not a monster! He's my father! Consumed by dark magic!" "That doesn't mean he won't kill you if he finds you!" Earendel faced Asha and looked her in the eyes. She turned to avoid his. "Don't you see that I'm doing this to protect you? He won't stop until he has destroyed you! You have to escape while you have the chance!" "I'm not going," he stated defiantly. "You can't help me! You never could!" Earendel paused. "Not unless I granted your wish right?" He replied in a snarky tone. "Can you even do that much? The stars left us to grant wishes, so what are they doing now?" Earendel looked down. "I'll tell you what they're doing now...they're mourning." Asha was silent. "I know you are too. We were all betrayed Asha, including you. I'm staying to protect the stars, and also to protect you." Earendel took Asha's hand in his and looked into her eyes, which once again welled up with tears. "Earendel...you're the only friend I've ever had, I can't lose you."

I will protect you, at all costs.

Asha releases Earendel's hand, then she runs to her horse and mounts it. "Asha!" Before Earendel can catch up, Asha gives him one last look and charges back towards the castle, leaving him alone in the woods.