Hoshi no Ouji-Sama (Prince of the Stars)

Chapter 3 - Night Sky

I woke up at around 12 am, not typical of me. At least I was feeling better than yesterday, and that's what mattered. Since I knew everyone was asleep, I snuck on upstairs to the attic, and to my library. It was far too late in the night to actually go to the library, so I had to deal with what I had. Carefully trying not to knock the shelf over for the 15th time, I attempted to reach a book on the higher shelves, a hard task.

As luck would have it, the shelf fell over a slight bit. While nothing was damaged, a good handful of books slammed to the floor, surely alarming anyone asleep. Since Placide was back, I thought they'd be the first up, since they were a light sleeper. I quickly tried to put the books back, preparing to act like nothing actually happened. Though, by the time I piled the books in my arms, the door opened.

"Oh, you're up."

I refused to turn around or acknowledge they were there.

"Does that bother you, mister?" I've officially put myself in the ditch again. 'Mister'. In truthfulness, I didn't actually know if Placide was a male, I just did it instinctively. Kind of like when you accidentally call the teacher "mom".

"...No, I just think you should be quieter, maybe. Or is that too easy for someone like you?"

I really couldn't believe how much I hated this right now. Also the fact that, well, he's a ghost. I can't hit him or anything. Besides, he leaves this weird stuff everywhere, and it's hard to get out of clothing. I didn't respond to his witty answer, though, since I didn't want to stir myself up at this hour.

"Well, you should go to bed, it's quite late and I don't-"

"Says the guy who woke up at 12 am to bitch me out." I whisper this part to myself, hoping he couldn't hear it. He didn't say anything on the matter, and I sighed in relief.

"-think that it's healthy to be staying up late."

"Relax, I was getting a few books and heading back down." I hoped this would diverge him from trying to continue this topic.

"Alright, but you better not tip the shelf over again."

He goes to leave, and leaves me be in the attic. I sat down on one of the piles of old pillows, throwing dust everywhere. It sparkled around in the moonlight as if it were the night sky itself. Though, it's dust. So, I ended up almost coughing out my insides.

Though the floor creaked as loud as it could when I sat down, it somehow wasn't as loud as 10 books hitting the floor all at once. I eventually got over the dust, and began reading. The light rain was fading at this point, almost non-existent. I didn't notice Sui coming in, and sitting next to me, dragging her quilt along with her.

"What's that?"

"Oh. It's just a book about the zodiacs, nothing too interesting."

"Can I read it too?" She sounded tired, like at the point of falling asleep at any moment. I knew she'd complain if I said no, but she was far too sleepy to actually read at my pace, so I came up with an idea.

"I'll read it to you." She nodded at this, and leaned up against me, huddling herself inside the quilt. 

I began from the start, and read slowly enough for her to comprehend what it was talking about. Something about this experience brought a calm, and I continued. Every now and again, she'd fidget around, then apologize. I always forgave her, though. I did that a lot, and I knew she did too.

Halfway through the book, and I notice that she's drifted off to sleep. The rain hitting the window silently, the moonlight shining so faintly, and the soft tone that I read in may have accidentally been as good as a lullaby, for she was out of it. I wasn't carrying her back to her room, though. That would've been horrible. Instead, I quietly got up, and settled her on the pillows. She wasn't really complaining, and seemed content where she was. I picked up the books, and went to go put them away, and found myself almost passing out on the shelves. I tried waking myself up, but knew it was pretty useless.

"Good night, sis."

I shut the door, and continue on my way to my room. I saw no one else was up, so it was the perfect time to go back to bed. I open the door, ready to collapse on the bed. I just fall onto it, and go to bed that way. I was so tired, so I didn't really give a damn how I slept, just as long as I slept. 

Things were getting better, and I'm fine with that.