Prompt 13# One time where the stars and rumours conflict

Do you know, that sometimes, by so firmly holding onto the fact that you're right, you can miss what's right in front of you? Most people would call it blindness, or selective focus, but, then again, other people tend to like putting things gently. I would call it arrogance.

Well, Jack, nobody wanted to hear your opinion anyway! This is a story, and if you feel it's particularly aimed at you, well then perhaps you should pay attention.

Once upon a time there was a young centaur called Firstfrost who lived during the reign of Caspian X, and came from a very very very very long line of stargazers. By which I mean that they were good at predicting world-changing events using the stars.
And no, I don't mean 'divination from Harry Potter', Ophelia, because that is utter rot; even those characters thought so! No, I mean that where we saw a conjunction of planets, they saw the birth of a king, and a solar eclipse became an impending disaster. It's not fortune telling, more like prophesising.

Anyway, as I was saying, Firstfrost came from a long line of star-diviners.

He was young, but his family had been teaching him the art for as long as he could remember. He was an outspoken soul, often unable to keep his mouth shut when he thought he had something to say, which, by the way, was a lot.

One night under the Summer Circle, young Firstfrost was out on his own, studying the heavens in all their incomprehensible glory. There was the Spearhead, the Ship, and the Leopard, hanging above him like jewels on a crown.

Now Firstfrost wasn't out here by chance or whim, he was not struck by sudden insomnia, neither was he simply stopping to admire the stars on his way home. No, Firstfrost was out here on a mission. He aimed to make his first prophecy, despite his youth and glaring inexperience, and was searching for signs among the stars.

By the by, he came across a certain planet in conjugation with a certain constellation. Now, I won't try to explain to you which planet or constellation, because I don't actually know myself. If you really, really want to know then you should look up 'A Compendium of Premature Conclusions' by Markus Bronte Nickleson, which you should be able to find in the Secret Archive in the North Pole. Never heard of it? Rubbish! If everything you hadn't heard of didn't exist, barely anything would!

Now, stop interrupting! You two are incorrigible.

No matter what he saw, he came to the conclusion that it meant something, and went rushing home to tell his parents, siblings, and friends.

And so it was, that a great many Narnians began to believe that Trumpkin the Dwarf was going to kill the King Caspian the tenth.

Now, now, before you start arguing with me, it didn't begin that way. In fact, all Firstfrost insisted, was that a king was going to die through betrayal. But, of course, when you're relying on dryads, men, talking beasts, and literally anyone who can talk when playing a large game of Chinese Whispers, the message is going to change by the time 'a' gets to 'b'.

So, it went something like this:

"Hey! Leafdawn! I was watching the stars last night and they say a king is going to be betrayed and assassinated!"

"What? Really? Which king?"

"I don't know, could be anyone!"

A day later Leafdawn went to see Old Bertie:

"Hey Bertie! Guess what I heard yesterday!"

"What?"

"The king's going to get betrayed and murdered!"

"Really?"

"Yeah, Firstfrost saw it in the stars."

Then Bertie had a conversation with Swiftcloud the raven:

"Hey Swiftcloud? Did you hear?"

"Hear what?"

"That King Caspian is going to be betrayed and killed!"

"By whom?"

"I don't know, but it would have to be someone close to him, right?"

And Swiftcloud talked to Willow:

"Hey Willow! I assume you've heard about the king?"

"No, what about him?"

"Someone close to him is going to betray and kill him!"

"How close?"

"I don't know, like maybe an advisor or something?"

"Like Trumpkin? He's the king's most trusted advisor."

"Sure, I guess…"

Now, by this time, Firstfrost had told his father, who was sceptical, to say the least. For he had heard nothing of any such occurrence and knew the stars and their patterns.

The very next night, he had gone out with his son to observe the sign described.

"Son, that is not…"

"No, see! That planet is in conjunction with-"

"Son, that's not a planet."

"Yes, it is! See how it glows red!"

"No, that is Belinus. It is a star."

"But-"

"Son. I hope you told no one of your prediction, because it was based on misinformation."

"…"

Hence, why you should never be so sure you are right. Nobody knows everything, and anyone under twenty knows less than most.
I'm sure you'd love to hear about what happened when that particular rumour reached Cair Paravel, but I can hear Maggie coming up the driveway, so there's no time. Ask me next week.

And no Jack, this story has absolutely nothing to do with your insistence in informing me that you would be able to avoid being convicted of a crime by enlisting in the army before your court hearing. Despite the fact that doing so is generally forbidden. And your statement entirely false. Can you hear my sarcasm, Jack? Nothing.


Author's Note:

Ha, so I was a little inspired by how I mistook a star for a planet once. I figured that while the stars might not lie, an amateur might misinterpret them woefully! Anyway, I feel rather sorry for Firstfrost now XD

Trix