Of Stardust and Wishes (A Wish Rewrite)

Chapter 16 - Empty Miracles

A/N: WAGGHHH, where did all these votes come from?! Thank you so much! I'm so happy you're enjoying my story :)

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To great relief, Sol found out that he was running a fever. Of course! That explained everything! His discordant thoughts, the frequent bouts of agitation, and that odd breathless feeling that came around with it. Never-mind that it hadn't affected him when he was sneaking around the city, nor when he was alone in the trunk...it was only ever when-

Ah nonsense! It was most certainly the fever and a healthy dose of mild hallucination, "Yesiree," he proclaimed as the bottle dropped into the harbor. He watched it for a couple minutes, making sure the current had taken hold of his message. Standing up from his crouch, he gave the bottle a salute as it drifted away from the empty dock and off to someplace where his brother would find it.

It was then when the clap of hooves shattered the quiet. Alarmed, he drew up the hood of his cloak and dropped into the shadows that clung to the underside of the elevated walk. The street ran above him, only two feet higher than he stood. He swallowed and shimmied further down, attempting to fold himself into that dark corner between the stone steps and the wall. He could hear the horses whinnying now, then light conversation as the royal party came closer. He held his breath, not daring to even entertain the idea of using stardust to extricate himself. A disguise or a small wish was one thing; granted further away would be hard to pinpoint. But a few meters? The star looked up, seeing the flawless white mounts emerge from around the storehouse. He shrank again.

Sol knew the king was looking for him. All the processions that were slowly becoming a daily occurrence, had no other purpose than to root him out. Even from their inception, he'd taken care to avoid the roving caravan when he could. This was the closest he had been to the vision of opulence that paraded above him. And it made him sicker than he already was. It was as if the ground gasped at every stamping hoof, every metallic footfall. The very air froze in their presence, like they were the four horseman unleashed. His gut keeled and rolled, but he fought off the nausea. Hand pressed against his mouth, he peered up again. Ah ha, there was the king! Sitting proud and tall, decked out in the finest garb and talking with...talking with...

"Asha," he rasped around the stifling hand.

The girl blinked, stopping mid-sentence to look around. A curious expression on her face. Oh no, had she heard him?! If she had heard him, then surely...

Magnifico said something to her, bringing her wandering eyes back to the previous topic they had been chattering on about. Once again engrossed, the pair disappeared further up the road, followed after by yet another set of guards.

Sol continued to observe his silence until the party had passed. Once the clattering steps dissipated, he slid boneless to the ground. Asha didn't tell him that she was riding with the king! Did she forget to mention it? Did she not want him to know?! Why didn't she -

Then again, he had made himself...unavailable after last night's incident. His gut rolled again at the memory, but this time it wasn't all that unpleasant. He chastised himself before creeping up the stairs. His feet touched cobblestone, and he looked down the spindly way to catch the last flash of silver. He stood in the middle of the near empty road, his mind bombarded with a slew of thoughts, most not his own. From the houses to the failing farms, all the way to the stranded ships circling miles from port; he heard every desperate plea. His head started to pound. There were so many...too many...

He looked behind him, to where the houses and desolate shops stretched. Breathing in his regret, his attention swung back to the empty passage that the cavalcade had taken.