Celestial Hearts
Chapter 1
Mushra Guardian-in-training
Mushra enjoyed looking at the stars. On Enterra he used to lie on his back watching them till morning came. They are so more beautiful up here, he thought as planets and constellations went whizzing by. Being a celestial meant that he could enjoy these things but he wished he didn't have to enjoy them alone. Sure there were lots of other guardians but time had moved on: most of the friends he had had before the Lanancuras debacle had moved on: they had grown up, got married, and had children. It hurt sometimes to think about all he had missed out on but he had done the right thing. After all he was the strongest wasn't he so it wasn't like someone else could have done it.
And then there were them, probably the best friends he had ever had, Sago Kutal Binka…Sen, Ren and Estee, even Mushrambo and…Yakumo. But they were back on Enterra and he was here light years away. How much time had passed anyway? Even if he could go back would they remember him? He hoped they would and that too much time hadn't passed since then. Enterra had changed dramatically after Lanancuras' defeat and Yakumo's resurrection. The guardians had decided to resurrect Yakumo afterwards because the people were crying out for a humane leader.
Mushra smiled. Yakumo for president, it had a strange ring to it. She would do a much better job than her predecessors of that he had no doubt. He wondered what she might think if she could see him now. Might she have a change of heart? This time he had doubts Mushrambo and herself seemed awfully cosy the last time he had seen them. Then there were the human suitors, apparently in their hundreds all attempting to win her hand but all trying to stay out of range of Mushrambo's sword.
Mushra wandered what the samurai was doing now besides swiping away potential suitors, and was he really interested in Yakumo? Mushrambo had been at everybody's beck and call for the last who knows how long. Mushra felt a little guilty thinking about that for he had used Mushrambo as well. Ok so it was for the good of mankind but he never gave Mushrambo a choice. No one had given Mushrambo a choice. Even Yakumo had had a choice. He had heard a rumour, yet he was unsure whether or not it had basis in fact, that Mushrambo had discovered acting and was being headhunted by some of the top studios.
Before he had even realised it he was laughing. Laughing harder than he had in months and it felt good. He laughed so hard he found it difficult to breathe and as he tried to steady himself he swallowed a large amount of stardust. This wasn't the first time this had happened, after returning to the celestial realm he had been warned about breathing in stardust, it wasn't harmful but large amounts were known to cause flightiness and dizzy spells. As the ring on which he stood spun and the stars shone with more ferocity upon him, he found himself drifting away, that strange giddy feeling taking over. Mushra had tried to describe it after the first time but he couldn't; the closest he got was a warm breeze tickling the skin beneath a star strewn sky or eating a large ice-cream cone on a hot day whilst dipping your toes in a cool stream.
He felt wonderful. All thoughts of what might have been dissipated. He was free, freer than he had been in ages. But what should he do? Then it came to him. Turning with all the agility of an alley cat he ran to the end of the ring and jumped. Seconds later he rose, his golden wings beating the weightless air gently. Swooping in a low arc he suddenly soared off into the distant stars.
