Light From Above

Chapter 2

The next day, as Helia sailed through the sky with the sun, Endymion returned to his throne in the Great Hall, eyes brighter than they had been the day before. This gave the stars a bit of hope that perhaps they had avoided another disaster. The hope was fleeting though as no one seemed able to catch his attention for long.

There didn't seem to be a single thing they could do to draw him out of his mind. Even when two of the younger stars staged a dance they had seen done by some of the priestesses once involving silk scarves and whirling motions. Never had this dance failed to make Endymion smile and laugh. 

But this day it failed.

Eventually, Endymion rose from his throne, hours before the normal time. With a wave of his hand, and murmured permission for the stars to remain in the hall socializing until the proper time, he strode toward the exit. He disappeared from the room without answering any of their startled questions, heading for his seldom used bed chambers.

These rooms could easily be called his favorite in the entirety of his home, even if he rarely used them. His bed was the main feature of the room, large enough for at least six people, soft enough to sink into and not want to leave, and covered with soft down pillows and blankets. Stretching overhead was a dark canopy dotted with crystalline diamonds that echoed the shapes of the stars when viewed from the earths surface. In fact, there was little space for anything else in the room besides the bed.

Without a thought or word, Endymion threw himself onto the bed, looking up at the sparkling crystals, and for a moment, felt small with them stretching above him. Was that how the girl he had seen felt every time she looked up at the night sky?

His contemplation had just begun when the door he had closed behind him opened once more, letting in a rush of air. In a show of his complete disinterest, Endymion did not even shift to look in that direction. Besides, he already had a guess as to who had followed him: Polaris.

"Was there anything you needed to talk about?" Polaris asked, concern clear in the North Star's voice as he closed the door behind him.

There was truly a reason why this was the star that had led the heavens before Endymion had arrived. His gaze was clear, his course steady. He had a knack for seeing potential issues, and did all he could to lessen anything that would shake the heavens.

That included making sure the Moon, his leader and friend, did not slide into the most disastrous of his moods.

After letting the silence stretch between them for a long moment, Endymion shifted on the bed to look at his friend, his eyes almost as sad as they were far away.

"I am tired," he answered after another long silence. "Is this my fate? To watch over the dreams of those beneath us and never know the pleasure for myself? To never truly rest?"

A slender eyebrow lifted toward the star's hairline. Polaris had never heard his friend complain of tiredness before.

"Everyone must rest, Endymion," he answered gently, perching carefully on the edge of the bed. He knew that if he fell back onto the soft surface, it would be difficult to escape without a nap.

"You do not need to hold court all day if you wish more rest, though I do not know how to get you pleasant dreams. Even mortals do not often remember the entirety of their dreams except with your help. But I have a feeling that was not truly what you wanted to ask me. It did not sound like you, my friend."

"I don't feel like me," Endymion sighed, curling up on his side with a pillow clutched tight against his chest. He waited a moment to see if his friend would say anything to that or just let him continue.