A Wish

Darkness

Asha's horse sped through the trees, down the hill, across the river, and back up towards the palace. In a moment of panic, Asha stopped her horse. She looked out towards the castle. The spell tower was being enveloped by a green fog. The sight confirmed the worst: Asha's father had lost all control. But what about her mother? The last time she saw the Queen was as she was racing through the palace to get to the dungeons, where they were keeping Earendel. She didn't have much time to talk, but she noticed the Queen was...quieter than usual. And her eyes were a faint green... Asha let out a few more tears, mourning the probable loss of her only family forever. She had a thought and turned back towards the forest. What if she just...left? Forever? She could easily escape into the forest, find a boat, and sail away from Rosas in hopes of forgetting everything and starting a new life. She would have Earendel to keep her company in the stars, if he still liked her at all. She could even look for her real parents. Asha was ashamed of herself for even thinking about abandoning her home, and her people. Still, she was so afraid. Just as Earendel said, she could very well die in there, or she could fail and Rosas would fall into the hands of a king possessed by dark magic, and she would lose her family completely. Asha couldn't bear to live in a world like that. Which is why she would rather die trying. She took a deep breath, wiped her tears, and charged towards the palace. In the distance she could hear yelling, and she noticed a crowd of people making their way towards the palace. She hurried through the town, warning everyone to stay in their homes. "Asha!" Asha heard a familiar voice. Dahlia and her grandfather were in the crowd. Asha stopped to warn them. "Don't go near the palace! It's dangerous!" "What's going on? Everyone wants to know if their wishes are safe. Some people have been feeling an intense pain inside of them, as if something bad had happened to their wishes." Asha couldn't lie to her. "I'm sorry Dahlia, my father has lost control of the magic, and now a darkness possesses him." "What kind of king would do such a foolish thing?" Dahlia's grandfather argued. "Saba please," Dahlia begged, silencing her grandfather. "I'm going to make this right, or die trying." "Asha no! Please, don't sacrifice yourself," Dahlia said, her eyes full of terror at the thought of losing her new friend. "This is my fight, this is my kingdom, I won't let the sins of my ancestors continue any longer!" "What are you going to do?" Dahlia asked. Asha sighed, unsure. "The stars meant well, but humans just aren't meant to possess such magic. I'm going to make sure this never happens again. Dahlia, please, take your grandfather home." Asha charged off before Dahlia could say another word. Once she reached the entrance of the palace, she saw a group of guards running past. They noticed her and immediately stopped. "Your Highness! Stay away from the palace!" One of them warned. "Get everyone out! Make sure no one stays inside! I'm going to help my father," Asha stated. "He's gone mad! No one can help him now!" "If anyone can, it's me. Do as I say, hurry!" Asha darted off towards the stables and dismounted her horse. She slapped the horse so it would take off, away from the palace, then she did the same with the other horses and animals. Finally, she went inside through the kitchen. None of the maids nor cooks were inside, but she could hear screaming and see people running down the hall. She joined them, but changed direction and made her way up to the tower, not allowing anyone to stop her. Asha coughed as the green fog grew thicker, and she ducked at the sudden bursts of green lighting that flew about in every direction. Once she reached the tower, she opened the door, and nearly fell to her death. The mosaic-covered ground was gone, as if someone had cut it out and taken it. Asha looked down and saw a humongous, dark hole that descended farther than she could see. Then she looked up; the floor was on the ceiling somehow. Through the stain glass windows Asha saw larger bursts of green coming from the roof. She knew she had to get her father's attention, so she carefully crept towards one of the large glass windows across from her, holding onto the wall and carefully examining every step so she wouldn't fall. The pathway wasn't much wider than her foot, so she slowly placed one foot in front of the other until she made it to the window. She stepped through the broken glass and held onto the outer wall for dear life. Thankfully the stones had enough depth from the wall that she could climb them, but it took everything in her not to look down. She took the deepest breath she ever had, and began the climb. As she climbed, she called out to her father, but her voice was silenced by the sounds of thunder and chaos. "Father! FATHER!" She yelled as loud as she could. Her foot slipped and she began to fall. She flailed her arms and legs in a desperate attempt to find something solid that wasn't there. The ground was getting closer and closer as she fell. This was the last way she wanted to die. She screamed with all her might, and suddenly she felt a large hand grab her entire body. She opened her eyes and noticed green magic covering her waist. It pulled her upwards towards the roof, where her father was guiding it to set her down. But it didn't let go of her. She looked at her father; his entire eye was a glowing green. He was surrounded by dark magic, and the crystal in his staff was a dark and desolate green. He smiled the most sinister smile at her. "Father...it's me, your Asha. Please...don't leave me and mother like this..." Asha begged, unable to hold back tears. The king looked her in the eyes and walked over to her, holding his gaze. He stopped only a few inches from her. "Where...is...the boy," he gasped with a voice that didn't sound like his own. Asha lied through her tears. "He's dead. You killed him with the force of your magic." The king backed away, deep in thought. He glared at her as she tried to break free from the dark magic's grasp. "He's not the only one, is he?" Asha stayed defiantly silent. The dark magic began to squeeze her to the point of being unable to breathe. She gasped. "WHERE ARE THEY!" The king shouted. "I...I can't...breathe-" The magic loosed its grip and Asha gasped for air. "He was the only one who came to earth. All the other stars are in their regular place in the sky." He glared at her. "I'm telling you the truth!" King Magnifico glanced up at the sky, noticing the stars felt...more alive than usual. He grinned. "Then we'll bring them down to us!" "NO!" King Magnifico raised his staff towards the stars, but a voice called out before he could release his magic at them. "Hey! Down here!" King Magnifico looked down and saw Earendel hanging on to the wall near the broken glass window. He had caught one of the wild horses that had escaped from the palace and rode it back to help Asha. The king immediately motioned for the dark magic to grab him and pull him upwards. It threw Earendel onto the ground. Yet before the king could land a blow, Earendel held out a wish bubble. The king froze, as if mesmerized. Asha gasped. "No Earendel! Don't give him the last wish!" Earendel stood and faced the king, who held out his hand. "Give it to me," he demanded. "Don't touch me, don't try anything or I'll break it," Earendel warned, holding it up as if he was going to smash it against the floor. King Magnifico's nostrils flared. "Release Asha." The king obeyed and Asha collapsed to the ground. "Do you know what will happen if I give you this, Your Majesty?" Earendel asked in a serious tone. The king glared, not responding. "All of this, everything you have now, everything you love, will disappear. The trust your people have in you, the family that looks to you, all of it will be gone. And you'll never be able to get it back. And eventually, you will die, known not for your kingdom, but for this. This blasphemy against the stars, this great evil. Now tell me, do you want to take this?" The king slowed his breath. He closed his eyes, as if fighting with himself. But in the end, he held out his hand again. "Give it to me." Earendel gave him a sad look, then threw the wish to Asha, who caught it and sheltered it in her arms. King Magnifico charged at Asha, but Earendel tackled him and they fell to the ground. Asha saw the staff fall and, without thinking, set the wish down to grab it. "No don't touch that!" King Magnifico ordered, suddenly sounding like her father. She raised the staff in the air. "NO!" The king cried. "Asha the magic isn't stable-!" She slammed the staff into the ground, making sure the crystal broke. It shattered and exploded into a cloud of green. The magic spread everywhere, through the town and into the forest. The palace workers could see from the ground the damage that had been done atop the tower. The explosion was massive, terrifying. The townspeople ran to their homes and ducked under their tables as the earth itself shook from the aftermath. The stars themselves flickered from shock. So much magic spread at once that trees changed colors and animals began to talk and people became dizzy from the overwhelming amount of supernatural energy around them. After the chaos subsided, the world was silent. The wind didn't whistle, the animals made no sound, the rivers didn't flow, everything was as though it was nothing. Queen Amaya was awoken by the maids who had found her and taken her outside. She sat up, confused, but immediately asked where her husband and daughter were. The maids pointed up at the tower, from which an odd silver smoke was rising. Earendel was woken up by his own glow, the glow that had died out when he lost his magic. He sat up, slightly dizzy but feeling better than he had all night. He looked around...and saw Asha, lying next to the colorless shards of the crystal and the wooden staff, motionless. "Asha..." He got up and ran to her side. Taking her in his arms, he begged her to wake up. "No...no no no..." King Magnifico woke up and immediately winced, rubbing his head. His vision was blurry, but he could see a glow nearby. It finally became clear, and he saw Asha. Part of him couldn't move. He was shaking at the sight of his only child, dead in front of him. He slowly crawled to her, but was unable to even touch her, knowing that he had done this to her. "Asha...please...don't leave me alone!" Earendel had never cried before. He hated it. He hated the feeling, the taste, that he had to discover it at all. He buried his head in Asha's neck. It was very clear to a star when someone was dead. Where there was usually a wish, even a hole of a wish, there was nothing. No emptiness, no heartbreak, no feeling at all. It was as though it was never there, which meant that Earendel was powerless to help her. King Magnifico cried out with a pain he had never felt before in his life. It echoed beyond the tower and down to the palace like an avalanche with no end. The king pulled his hair and sobbed bitterly. He wish the curse had destroyed him like it did his grandfather, but this time it had done the worst damage possible. This was no longer a warning, this was a consequence.