II

The light that burst in through the window in the morning was a little too bright. After being nearly blinded by the bright flash from the very pendant he now wore, Muska wasn't ready to wake up and face the sunlight. He pulled the covers over his head a little more and groaned. But he knew that he needed to wake up. He had to find Sheeta. He finally threw the covers off and rolled out of the bed. It was still very bright. He made his way over to the washroom, where he bathed, ruffled up his hair, and finally felt awake. He looked in the mirror. With his ruffled hair, he looked a little like a golden haired adult Pazu, which wasn't a good feeling. Well, it would have to do though. He knew that the government would be searching for him. And for good measure, he turned his hair a raven black and changed his golden eyes to a midnight blue. He found his clothes, repaired and folded, at the foot of the bed. He looked at them for a moment, and shook his head. He threw on the shirt and pants, and left the jacket folded neatly. He decided that it was too nice of a day to wear shoes, and he was only going to the village. He headed outside and shielded his eyes for a moment from the bright light. He finally adjusted to the light and started to head toward the village.

When he went to the village, he got some strange looks, but nobody seemed to know who he was, so that was good. He headed to a carpenter's shop and looked around.

"Anyone here?"

An old carpenter came out and looked at Muska.

"Hello, young man," the carpenter smiled at Muska.

Young… well, Muska took it as a compliment. He smiled back at the carpenter. "I'm new here, and I was looking for a place to get a job."

"Have you built anything before?"

Muska nodded. "My father taught me how to build flying machines before he died." It wasn't a lie, but it had been a long time since Muska had seen his father. Hundreds of years…

The old carpenter smiled. "So you're like that Pazu boy, hmm? Well, come in, let's see what you can do."

Pazu… so this man knew Pazu. Muska would ask about the boy's whereabouts later. It was a little weird being compared to Pazu. He headed back with the old carpenter and took a look at the workshop. The carpenter showed him around and patted him on the back.

"I'll give you a few hours to make something small. It will show me where you need to improve."

Muska nodded. When the old carpenter had left, Muska quickly grabbed some wood and started working on his first project as a… human.

A few hours later, the old carpenter came back. Muska looked up and smiled. "Here, I made this."

He handed the carpenter a model of an airship. The airship looked like it would fly, so the old carpenter threw it and watched in awe as it did. Muska watched as the model airship landed on the ground. The old carpenter smiled. "Alright then, I guess you're more than an apprentice. You can help out around here, and I'll let you use my workshop to make whatever you need to make."

Muska nodded. "Thank you."

When the old carpenter had left again, Muska started to draw out plans for a real airship. He designed a ship that looked like an eagle; its wings would be able to move like those of a bird. Upon finishing the design, he headed outside and looked up. A giant cloud was overhead, with a few others surrounding it. He pulled the crystal out from under his shirt. It glowed with a strange light. He remembered seeing Laputa float away, but there it was, the cloud that had hidden Laputa for so long. He headed back into the workshop and cleaned up the mess, making sure everything was nice and tidy. It was getting late. He called to the old carpenter that he was going back home. The old carpenter called back and told Muska to return in the morning.

When Muska left the workshop, it was dark outside. People bustled around getting food and going home. Muska decided that he could just finish up the food that the old woman had left him. He started to head home when he heard thunder and saw flashes of lighting. Alright, now it was time to run home. He dodged a few villagers and skidded down a hill. It had started to rain. He sighed. As he went back inside his shelter, it really wasn't his house, he let his hair and eyes turn golden again. He took off his shirt and hung it up so that it would dry. He slightly regretted not wearing shoes, his feet hurt from running around in the carpenter's workshop. He sat down on the bed and sighed. When would he find her? Would he find her? He wanted to take her away to Laputa, or what remained of it. He'd finish the airship and take her home, where she really belonged. But he knew that Pazu had probably taken her on an adventure somewhere far away. Muska hated Pazu, he hated how the boy had looked at Sheeta, how he had laughed with her, and held her hand… But that was in the past. He growled a bit and slammed his fist into a wall. The wall now had a crack in it. Muska watched as his hand healed. Well, at least his blood was still pure. But Sheeta… Pazu had probably muddied her blood. Muska looked over at the sketchbook. He picked it up and looked at the picture he had drawn of Sheeta asleep. He flipped to another page and drew a picture of Laputa, as he remembered it as a child. And on the page after that, he drew it as it was when he returned. He drew some Laputian people, and then drew some airship designs. He wrote down what he remembered of the spells he had learned as a child. He drew another picture of Sheeta. He felt himself getting tired again. He closed the sketchbook and put the graphite on the bedside table. He looked up at the ceiling and imagined that he was in his room in Laputa.

"Why is everyone leaving?"

Romuska ran to his father, the king of Laputa, Ezero. The king turned to look at his small son and ruffled the boy's hair.

"There is more profit on the land now." A lie that the little prince saw right through but didn't protest to.

"So… do I have to go too?"

"I would recommend it, but if you wish to stay…"

"I want to stay here. It's beautiful in the sky, and we have no worries."

A few years passed, Romuska's seventh birthday arrived, but he didn't celebrate. He was mourning for the dead of the other cities. The other floating cities had fallen to the ground, and Romuska had even witnessed some of the tragedy.

Soon, Romuska watched as all the people left. Even his father left eventually. And before his mother, Daela, left, she gave him a volucite pendant.

"This will keep you safe. Never give it away."

"Alright."

And then Romuska was alone in Laputa.