Wish (Reworked)

Morning Magic

               The morning heat of Rosas warmed the barn, and Asha awoke to sunlight streaming through the cracks in the roof. She slowly sat up and stretched over the flattened hay, then cast a sleepy gaze at the barn door.

Memories of the night before came flooding back.

Asha scrambled to her feet and hastily plucked a few strands of hay stuck between her braids. When she pushed open the doors, laughter and the sight of the farm animals crowded around two goats greeted her. She squinted against the light and inched closer, certain her eyes were playing tricks on her. But when she stopped only a few feet away and blinked, her mouth fell open and the two animals were clear.

Before her stood two Valentinos; one shimmering in gold under sunlight, and the other the familiar, brown goat posing like a pompous steed in the grass

"I knew gold was my color!" he brayed and galloped to his twin, inspecting the sparkle of his fur closely. "And the extra beets for breakfast are doing wonders for my coat."

"What's going on here?" As soon as Asha asked, the golden Valentino shifted into Star. He waved amid a flurry of applause from his feathered friends and moos of approval from the cows.

"Whoa!" Her eyes brightened. "How did you do that?"

"It's a delightful trick," Valentino chimed in. "We've been experimenting all morning, but the hens and I can't seem to agree. I think he makes a much better goat than a chicken."

"You're both wrong!" a cow said between a mouthful of grass. "He makes a perfect cow."

"Chicken!"

"Goat!"

"Cow!"

The animals grumbled and argued with each other. Asha merely rolled her eyes, then turned her attention back to a yawning Star.

"Hey, are you okay?" she asked. He yawned again and rubbed his eyes.

"I guess it was kind of a long night," Asha said, then fell silent. The two locked eyes, taking in the other. Star's glow wasn't quite so brilliant in the sunlight, yet his sleepy eyes still sparkled with stardust. She was shocked to realize the flare she felt the night before had only reignited in the day.

"We uh..." she paused, struggling to find the words, "We better get going. It's not far to the palace."

He nodded, then yawned again. Asha noticed his eyelids remained shut longer between blinks than they had before and hurried to the barn to gather her satchel.

As soon as she slung the bag over her shoulder, the whinny of a horse caused her to jump. The hens squawked loudly while the cows and donkey dashed into the barn in a tizzy. She ran to the door and saw Star swaying gently amid a hopping Valentino.

"Asha!"

Simon! Asha would've recognized his voice anywhere. She ran toward Valentino and shushed him.

"No talking! Not yet anyway. No one can know about this or who Star really is before Queen Amaya!"

It seemed like a solid decision. After all, if anyone should know first about a star that hurtled down to Rosas, shouldn't it be the Queen? Asha still got goosebumps thinking about the fact that she'd started all of this.

Simon's call echoed through the trees again followed by another whinny.

"Well, what do you plan on telling him in the meantime?" Valentino asked with a nod toward the bushes. Asha cautiously looked back at Star, just in time to see the boy slump forward. With a gasp, she flung her arms out to break his fall, only instead heaving his body up, she caught a small, round star. It let out a soft snore and turned over once in her arms, snuggling against the sleeve of her gown.