A Wish

A Starry Night

A young guard hastily made his way to the king's spell tower. After panting his way up the spiral staircase, he reached a room full of various trinkets and treasures and bookshelves. The walls were covered with stain glass windows, and the floor was a mosaic of the night sky, complete with stars and planets and the moon. At the far end of the room was a stone table covered in sheets with various spells written on them, ingredients for the spells such as crushed plants and powders, and flasks filled with colorful liquids. The young guard bowed and did not enter the room. The king and queen were discussing something he could not hear. "Your Majesties, the guards have discovered a lone baby at the entrance of the castle." King Magnifico and Queen Amaya glanced at each other. "All alone?" The queen asked. "Yes your Grace." "Did you bring the child in to warm and feed them?" "Yes, she is with the maids now." The king and queen followed the guard down to the servants' quarters, where the maids were fawning over a sleepy baby wrapped in purple cloth. Queen Amaya's eyes filled with tears as the baby was placed in her arms. She and King Magnifico could not have children, so they had tried to make themselves content with the life they had. Still, deep down, both wanted an heir. "What do you plan to do with the child, Your Highness?" One of the maids asked. She looked over at King Magnifico, who stared lovingly into the babe's brown eyes. A note pinned onto the baby's cloth signified that whoever left her at the palace must not have been able to care for her, so there was not much use in searching for them. King Magnifico looked over at his wife, who he could tell was already in love with the baby. "Make ready a room for her," he told the maids, who excitedly hurried out of the room, arguing over the wallpaper color of the soon-to-be nursery. The king and queen took the baby to their bedroom. Queen Amaya walked over to the large window and showed the baby the stars. The child looked up at the night sky in wonder and held out a hand as if reaching for the stars. Queen Amaya noticed a new star appear in the sky, like a flame being lit for the very first time. "There's a star just for you...Asha."

🌟

King Magnifico pretended not to hear the pitter patter of small footsteps sneaking up behind him. He slowly dropped his pencil and prepared his attack. Suddenly he turned and yelled BOO! at the giggling little girl positioned behind him. He laughed along and picked her up in his arms. He took her to his desk and showed her a large, worn book with torn and tattered pages. He pointed to a page full of circles. "These are the wishes I've been studying Asha. Each one is from someone in the kingdom who has a special wish they would like me to grant. Every year, one wish is granted, which strengthens the magic of the kingdom. Granting more than one would cause the magic to lose control and erupt, like this." He playfully threw Asha in the air and made explosive noises. She laughed as he brought her back down. "One day you'll have this power, and you'll be able to use my staff to grant wishes." King Magnifico grabbed a wooden staff with a large emerald crystal secured at the top that was resting against the table and handed it to Asha. "Is it heavy because there are so many wishes?" Young Asha asked. "No child, it's all ancient magic. Passed down from generations of our family." Asha looked at her reflection in the crystal. "Wow," she gasped. "You'll make a great queen one day, just like your mother," King Magnifico said, putting the staff down again. "Speaking of which, why don't you go give her a good scare?" King Magnifico put Asha down and she ran out of the room excitedly. He turned back to the book and continued examining the pages. He sighed heavily. Granting wishes was his duty as king and keeper of the wishes, and the kingdom thrived with every wish that came to pass, but he had to wonder: is this all there is to it? There is so much power in the wishes, and it seems to just be...wasted. Is this all that he is meant to do? Is this the thanks I get?