Chapter Text
It had been a week since the night Asha’s life had changed for good. She struggled with sleep and often felt odd interacting with the King and Queen.
Amaya had gotten colder towards her, while Magnifico became more demanding but still talked to her with trust. Magnifico was less cautious, and let some information slip. She’d find some of his books on wishing while cleaning. She knew they belonged in the secret room, but she would slide them on a shelf, after looking through them for proof.
She never found any.
Star would often visit her at lunch when she got off. He was much better at controlling his glowing, and he looked like a regular guy. As much as he was fun to talk to, and he could cheer her up, she had no idea how to explain this situation to him. It was right after they watched the sunrise actually.
“ Can I not come with you? I’ll disguise myself.” He said.
“ You could… but I don’t think a magical being like you should be close to the King.” She replied with a sigh, sitting down on a rock.
Star joined her, sitting on a rock of his own conjuring.
“ Oh? Is he not kind?” He asks, leaning to look at her face.
“ He appears to be… but he isn’t.” She says, picking at her fingernails. Star had noticed this, and reassured her that if she was struggling to talk about it, she could talk about it at another time.
Despite his patience, she knew Star could feel something off. She saw it on his face when he went close to the castle, his eyes narrowing and his mood becoming different. He was quiet, like he was trying to pinpoint the problem. Asha guessed that because the town was so full, his radar was skewed. She felt bad, and with each passing day she so wanted to tell Star everything, but she was also trying to come up with her own plan. Star was powerful enough just to act without thinking and she didn’t know what consequences would be in for either of them if that happened.
Her Saba had been acting differently, his energy was even more drained, and she knew it was because of the wishing ceremony. He would often wake up late and go to bed right after dinner, he still smiled and hummed a little tune under his breath but Asha knew he was getting weaker.
This is all that was running through Asha’s mind as she started her second week as the King’s apprentice, and her job was pretty much the same. Keeping the fire going, tea refills and lots of dusting and ordering castle staff on behalf of the king. She rarely saw Dahlia or the others but with all her anxieties about Star being found out, she thought it was better that way.
“ If I see one more dust bunny I am going to loose it.” She sighs, dusting underneath each shelf.
“Asha.” A hushed voice, a familiar one, called her name. She turned to look around, not knowing where the voice had come from.
Was the stress getting to her?
“Asha. Over here!” There it was, a small, yellow bird, perched on the desk in front of her.
“What are you doing here?” She hissed. Why was this guy so hard to keep hidden?
“ Asha, I’m so sorry. I felt an energy. It’s something bigger than I’ve ever felt.” He said, his voice lacking the playful tone he usually carried. Asha knew what he was sensing, and she was worried that today was going to be a really bad day.
“What’s wrong?” He asked, concern knitting on his little bird face.
“ Star… I don’t know how to explain this to you…” The doors crashed open, which led Asha grabbing the bird in both hands, hiding it behind her back.
“ Asha, I know you’re almost off but before you go could you ask the kitchen to bring me some of those cookies? I’m feeling so snackish.” He says, fixing his hair on one of his many mirrors.
“ Right away your majesty, let me just finish up here.” She says, shoving Star into her pocket.
“ No need, you can complete it tomorrow. I have some business I need to attend to so just go do that and be on your way.” His voice meant to sound benevolent, but came off as annoyed. Asha bowed once again, feeding his ego.
“ You are too kind.” She said, taking her bag and leaving the room. She made it down the Stairs and Star shot out of her pocket.
“ Was that the King?” He asked, his own tone sounding irritated.
“ Get back in my pocket, I can’t be talking to a bird in the castle.” she huffed. He rolled his eyes, instead, turning into a human.
“ If you’re going to do that please turn off the glow.” She begged. He agreed, now looking like another citizen.
“He doesn’t look that wizardly.” He says, placing a hand on her shoulder as they walk side by side. Asha shrugged it off.
Star was always doing this, and she knew he was doing it absentmindedly. Deep down, Asha didn’t mind it. His hands were always warm and it always made her feel safe, still, she didn’t like how it made her feel. As smart as she was, she could be very ignorant. She snorted a little at his comment, hoping that her shrug didn’t insult him.
“I just know how he’d react if you said that to his face.” He smiled back at her comment, but it didn’t meet his eyes.
“What was in that room, Asha?” He asks, his face settling a little.
“ We will talk about that tonight.” She said, opening the door that led to the kitchen downstairs.
“ Asha…” He said. Star also had an annoyingly serious attitude when he had to be. It was weird how often he could switch between his playful and funny self into his serious and thoughtful self. She squeezed his hand, it was a quick motion that didn’t linger, but it got his attention.
“ Star, I promise we can talk tonight, right now I have something I need to do.” His hesitance turned into a small smile.
“ Okay, but I’m holding you to that.”
Asha and Star had made it to the hallway leading to the Kitchen. Asha stops right before they get to the kitchen door.
“ Can you wait out here? If anyone comes, just hide in one of these rooms.” She asks, pulling the hood of his cape so it covers his face. Star lets out a small laugh, adjusting it on his head.
“ Asha, don’t worry about me.” He says. She exhales, and opens the door. All she has to do is notify one of the staff. Still, she was worried someone would ask too many questions about this strange man with her.
Asha immediately regrets going straight to the kitchen. She bumps into someone who was trying to leave, mumbling an apology. Then, she sees who it is.
“ Asha!” Dahlia says, pulling her into a hug. Asha was happy to see her, and she so wanted to take time to catch up. Still, She was worried about a certain glowing someone.
“ Dahlia, hi!” Asha said, patting her on the back to signal a release.
“ We all miss you! It seems like the King has you working hard.” She says, releasing Asha from the hug and fixing her glasses.
“ Yeah, King Magnifico has me working alright.” She agrees, trying to not sound rushed. Asha truly loves her friends, and it pained her to be so distant.
“ Anyways, I was just about to go collect some eggs. Are you needing something?” She asks, Asha just notices the basket in her other hand.
“Oh! The King wants some treats sent up to his chambers, can you pass that message along to someone?” She says.
“ I’ll do that when I’m done with this.” She says, signaling to the basket yet again.
“ Let me do it, I’m off anyways.” Asha says, trying to sound helpful rather than terrified.
“ Oh? I mean, if you want? I hate carrying the basket with my crutch anyways.” Dahlia says, giving her a weird look before handing Asha the basket.
“ If you’re done, do you want to wait until I’m off? It should be about another hour.” Dahlia asks. Asha curses under her breath. She so wanted to take some time off of her schedule of anxiety to relax with her friend, but her invisible deadlines and duties were beckoning her.
“ Let’s chat when I get back from this.” Asha says, giving her a quick nod before closing the door and turning around. Star was nowhere to be seen, which made Asha sigh and roll her eyes. He tended to do this, and even though it stressed her out, it was usually out of her control. She opened the door that led to the chicken coop. Closing the door behind her, she looked up. The chickens usually just sat around, and it was pretty easy to collect the eggs. Still, she wasn’t expecting to see one flying past her, without a care in the world.
“I’m flying here!” The Chicken aggressively flies past her.
“ Did that chicken just…talk?” She whispered to herself, before her eyes moved to the corner of the coop, where the culprit was sitting, casually chatting with two other chickens.
“...and the food here is so sub par, if they want good eggs they should be feeding us better food.” One of the chickens stated. Star sat cross legged in front of them, nodding along.
“ She’s so right, I’m so tired of being cooped up in here… pun intended.” The other one says, clearly exasperated.
“What is going on here!” Asha says, her hands on her hips, looking down at him.
“ Asha, I’m sorry. I got distracted.” He says, standing up.
“ Why are the chickens talking?” She was trying to sound stern, but she really sounded anxious.
“ Well, I heard someone coming, so I hid in here. I’ve never seen so many animals locked in together before.” He says.
“ I just wanted to talk with them, I knew they must have had complaints.” He said. As smart as Star was, he tended to do some things that made no sense.
“ This is not keeping a low profile.” She tells him, pointing at the babbling chickens.
“I understand. Still, these chickens obviously don’t like it here. Some of them have been so domesticated they don’t talk, even with my spell.” He says, a worry filling his voice. Asha seemed to understand now, and she regretted her harsh tone.
“ I get it.”
“ I guess humans aren't as nice and amazing as you are.” He replies, clearly trying to cheer her up. Why was he trying to cheer her up? Asha was the one who chewed him out for trying to help.
“ Oh, be quiet.” She laughs. With his help, they collected some eggs. Thanking the chickens.
“ I’ll see if I can get you guys some better food.” Asha tells the two chickens that Star was talking to earlier. Maybe being the King’s apprentice and some perks? She could easily tell the king that the chickens needed better food to produce better eggs, and he was usually dismissive enough for her to be able to pass that message on to those in charge of the chickens.
Asha and Star had left the room, only to be faced with another problem, Dahlia.
“ Asha, you were taking forever.” She says, her last words drawing out, noticing the tall guy next to her. Both Asha and Dahlia were pretty short but even when Star wasn’t floating, he was taller than both of them.
“ Who’s this?” Dahlia asks. Asha grips the basket handles, turning to look at Star.
“ Oh. He’s…applying for castle staff!” She says, her voice rising in volume. She coughs, returning to her normal voice.
“ This is…Cepheus.” She says, his hand now gripping her forearm. She knew he didn’t like that name, but she panicked.
“ Oh. Hello!” Dahlia says, stealing glances at Asha.
“ Hello!” He lifts his other hand, waving at her. Dahlia nods in his direction, now glancing at his hand on her forearm.
“ I’m just showing him around. Apprentice work never ends.” Asha says, shaking her head.
“ Oh. I’m guessing today isn’t a good day to visit then?” Dahlia says, a look of confusion still plastered on her face.
“ I was planning on it, but this just came up.” Asha was a terrible friend.
“ Okay, we can plan for another time.” Asha knows Dahlia knows something, and she knows that Dahlia can spot lies from anywhere. Once Dahlia is out of sight, Asha sighs loudly.
“ Am I causing a hindrance to your plans?” He asks, his voice was void of sadness or guilt, more so he asked because he knew the answer.
“ Well, the less people who know about you, the better.” She says. He nods.
“ I guess this secret is just between us and the chickens.” Asha let out a tired laugh. She was glad that he was so understanding. There was still another conversation she needed to have with him, and she really hoped he’d approach it with the same attitude.