Of Stardust and Wishes (A Wish Rewrite)

Prologue - The Boy and The Queen

A/N : Thank you for choosing to read my rewrite of Wish! For all who are here for Star Boy, he comes in around Chapter 7. There's some groundwork and worldbuilding we have to cover before we get to him. This is going to be a long-form story of around 60,000 words (novel-length), anywhere from 32 - 35 chapters long. I hope you'll enjoy the journey!

 I've had so much fun writing this story and if you like what you read, a comment would be much appreciated :)

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There was once a boy who knew nothing but decay. Born in the smoldering twilight of an empire, he noted the change of seasons by disease and marked the years in wars. He didn't know his mother and his father was merely a phantom that plagued his memory from time to time. The last physical remnant of the man was a ring on a thin leather strap that held fast to the child's neck.

A small weed of a thing, the boy grew into a feral creature. He stole when he could, and starved when he couldn't. With his black eyes and waxy face, he scared many in the villages he inhabited. Moving like a wraith along the narrow pathways and alleys, he had several priests called to exorcise him over the years. But when they'd bring their holy fury, they only found an emaciated boy beyond their crucifix. And as time marched on, the small transient learned this was a sign to move along.

With nothing but the dirty clothes on his back he made his way through the continent. Evading thieves and knights alike, he slept in trees because they were well off the ground and easily defensible with a few heavy stones. He'd developed a dead-accurate aim over the years, no man had ever caught him, and he was determined to keep it that way. After all, he'd lived his life alone and he liked it fine.

So went the majority of his adolescence, until one night when he was perched aloft in a massive apple tree. He lay back on a generous bough, devouring yet another of the fruit that was within arm's reach, when he noticed a line of fire slice the night sky. Startled, he nearly dropped the half-eaten apple. He grappled with it until he fell to the freshly tilled ground below.

His yelp as loud as a church bell in the empty orchard, the boy cursed his clumsiness and felt around for his lost prize. Finding it in the dark, he shoved the fruit back in his mouth. It tasted like soil, but he ate it without complaint. Wiping off the residual stickiness he remembered again the comet that had cleaved the night. Curiosity overtook him and he made his way toward where it ought to have landed.

His trek was much longer than he anticipated, stumbling through ivy and stone, his journey took him deep into the forest. He held his breath at every broken twig and tensed at the far-off howling of wolves. By the time he discovered the impact site, dawn was starting the break on the horizon. He could see where the earth had cracked and bowed upon collision. The boy dropped on all fours and scaled the crater. He kept low, peaking over the top to see down into the trench.

At first all he saw was a bundle of rags blowing in the soft breeze, that was until a slender leg adjusted itself to curl back into shadow. He pulled himself up and stared further, blinking to clear his vision. No, that was certainly a leg. A women's leg to be precise. What was a woman doing falling from the sky?

The first rays of sun touched the edges of the pit and the strange woman stood to greet them. She was tall to an abnormal degree and her movements were too smooth to be human. She walked with precise posture and may as well have been wearing a lavish gown rather than a bunch of dirty rags. The boy sniffed at this display, throwing his legs over the side, he sat there kicking the air, "Lady, what do they call you?"