When they reached the market, Louis saw that Harry was barely able to stand on his feet. On the ship, he had changed his rhythm and slept during the night instead of the day. It was getting late, and they could both need the rest. When he saw an Inn, he turned to Harry.
"Let's get a room. We need to rest."
"Okay." Harry agreed and gave him a sleepy smile, making Louis' heart jump.
Louis paid for a room, and they immediately went to bed. Louis yawned.
"Good night, Harry."
"Good night, Louis."
Harry couldn't sleep. He lay awake watching Louis and how peaceful he looked sleeping. He had to get something off his chest.
"Louis?"
When he didn't get an answer, he was sure that the man beside him was asleep and he could finally say what was on his mind since Louis couldn't hear his confession.
"You know, when I said I knew little
about love? That wasn't true. I know a
lot about love. I've seen it, centuries and centuries of it, and it was the only thing that made watching your world bearable. All those wars. Pain, lies, hate... It made me want to turn away and never look down again. But when I see the way that mankind loves... You could search to the furthest reaches of the universe and never find anything more beautiful. So yes, I know that love is unconditional. But I also know that it
can be unpredictable, unexpected,
uncontrollable, unbearable, and
strangely easy to mistake for loathing, and... What I'm trying to say, Louis is... I think I love you."
Harry turned to his back and stared at the ceiling. He let out a deep sigh.
"Is this love, Louis? I never imagined I'd know it for myself. My heart... It feels like my chest can barely contain it. Like it's trying to escape because it doesn't belong to me anymore. It belongs to you. And if you wanted it, I'd wish for nothing in exchange - no gifts. No goods. No demonstrations of devotion. Nothing but knowing you loved me too. Just
your heart, in exchange for mine."
"Do you really mean that?"
Harry gasped and turned his head, and stared at Louis. His eyes were open, and he was looking at him.
"You were asleep!" Harry said, feeling utterly embarrassed for his confession. He covered his face in his hands, absolutely mortified.
A soft touch to his hand made him look up.
"I'm glad I wasn't. Do you want to know what captain Liam really whispered to me?" Louis asked.
Harry nodded his head.
Louis turned to his side, facing Harry.
"He said my true love was in front of
my eyes... And he was right."
Louis leaned forward. He hesitated briefly before he pressed his lips against Harry's.
The kiss was magical. That was the only way to describe it. Louis head was spinning, and soon enough, Harry was lighting up the whole room with his star glow. They made them both giggle.
They kissed until they fell asleep from exhaustion. Louis woke up early and just watched Harry sleep for a moment with a soft smile on display. He kneeled what he had to do, and he didn't want yo wake up Harry. He needed his sleep. He would return soon anyway.
He found a sisscor and cut off a lock of Harry's hair before he got dressed and walked downstairs to talk to the innkeeper.
"I need a pen and paper."
"I don't have it." The man muttered.
"Oh, can you give my friend upstairs a message if he wakes up before I'm back?" Louis asked.
"What's the message?" The Innkeeper wondered.
"I've gone to see Eleanor to tell her that I'm sorry, but I've found my true love, and I want to spend the rest of my life
with him." Louis smiled.
"Congratulations." The Innkeeper snorted sarcastically.
Louis headed out, and ten minutes later, he reached the wall for Walls. The guard was asleep, so he just walked right in. The village was still sleeping, so he headed home to see his mum. She was cooking breakfast as he walked into the house.
"Louis! You're alive! My goodness,
you're more than alive."
His mum burst into tears and hugged him tightly.
"I was so afraid that if you met your
father, I'd never see you again."
"I didn't meet him, but you're the only parent I need. I found something else, though. I found true love, and I can't wait for you to meet him. I'll be back soon, mum. I have to go and see Eleanor." Louis said and let go of her.
"Him?" His mum questioned.
"Eh, yeah." Louis said and looked at his mum worriedly, but she just smiled at him. "I'm looking forward to meeting him."
Harry woke up feeling well-reated for the first time ever. He turned around just to find the bed empty. Where was Louis? He hurried to get dressed and ran downstairs where he found the innkeeper.
"Excuse me, have you seen my friend?"
"He left very early." The Innkeeper informed him.
"He left?" Harry questioned.
"Yes, but he wanted me to leave you a message. Let's see, what was it now? Oh! He told me to tell you he's gone to see Eleanor, because he's sorry, but he's found his true love, and he wants to
spend the rest of his life with her."
Harry teard up. So this was how it felt to get his heart broken? Last night had been a lie. He couldn't believe it. If that was the truth, Louis would have to tell him that face-to-face instead of running away like a coward. He left the Inn heading for Walls to look for Louis.
In the meantime, Louis knocked on Eleanor's door. She opened it, looking surprised.
"Louis? What happened to you?"
"I found the star." Louis announced.
"You did? Where is it? Is it beautiful?" Eleanor questioned greedily.
"The most beautiful thing in the world." Louis replied, thinking of Harry.
He reached into his pocket and took out a folded handkerchief, where he put Harry's lock of hair and handed it to her. Eleanor grimaced.
"It's awfully small."
"This is just a little piece. A token. The rest of it I love too much to part with." Louis replied, ready to leave.
"Love? But what about our agreement?" Eleanor asked.
"Love isn't something you barter for,
Eleanor. It doesn't have a price tag. It isn't something to be bought or traded." Louis replied.
"So forget the star. Keep it. It's not
the star I want. You know what I want." Eleanor purred and gave him a seductive look.
How on earth did he fall for that in the past? Louis felt ashamed of himself.
"Yes, I do. You want to grow up and get over yourself." Louis replied dryly.
Eleanor gasped. She was offended.
At that moment, Humphrey arrived.
"What on earth is going on here? Eleanor?"
"All yours. You really do make a
perfect couple. The best of luck to
you both." Louis said and began to walk away.
Eleanor looked in the handkerchief and threw it at him.
"Why would I want that? Just a measly
handful of Stardust."
Louis was confused and picked up the handkerchief from the ground and looked inside. Instead of a lovely lock of Harry's hair, all he vould find was dust. He panicked and started to run to the wall when he reslized what it meant. Harry couldn't enter his world. He would turn into stardust.
