Chapter 2 A Million Years
Aster took a bite of the salad, topped with glittering star bits. He smiled as the flavor washed over his tongue. He would never grow sick of their taste. The honey-like sweetness mixed with the tanginess brought upon from the sparkles…it made him feeling like he was in Food Heaven every time. He reached across the table and got some more salad. While he did this, he noticed his wife staring off into the distance. This caused him to blink.
"Rosie?"
Rosalina did a double take before putting on a smile. An obviously fake smile, but a smile nonetheless. "Do you like it?"
Aster blinked again before he realized that she was talking about the food. "Yes, I do. It's perfect." He smiled, romantic intention dripping from every corner of his face, and came over to the gorgeous watcher of the cosmos. "Although, it's nowhere near as perfect as you are."
Rosalina giggled, her face turning the color of the roses she was named after. "Stop it."
"Why?" Aster began to feel a little bouncy. "Nothing that I'm saying is incorrect."
Rosalina covered her mouth as she giggled. "You're just saying that."
"And speaking the truth as I am!" He wrapped his arms around her and proceeded to kiss the various parts of her blushing face. "This one is for your beauty." He kissed her cheek. "This one is for your grace." He kissed her other cheek. "And this…" he slowed down, keeping his attention finely focused on only her. "This is for putting up with me for the past million and ten years."
He gently closed his eyes and planted a kiss right on her lips. Rosalina's breathing slowed down to a calm, aroused pace. She closed her eyes and returned the kiss. Aster drank in her sweet fragrance, the irresistible smoothness of her mouth. This was Heaven. If he could spend the rest of eternity with this amazing woman, it would certainly be worthwhile. He kissed her with more deep, intimate feelings, pouring his passion and love into the way that their lips were locked.
Unfortunately, Rosalina was the first to pull away. Not that that deterred Aster; every good thing must come to an end at some point. However, his understanding shifted to disappointment when she spoke to him.
"What happened with the puffling?"
Aster stood still for about a minute. Of course. That stupid puffling, the one creature that could end the universe AND a beautiful moment between the literal star-crossed lovers. Aster sighed and sat down.
"It's magic has developed." He cleared his throat and looked into Rosie's face. "It now has the ability to teleport."
Rosalina's eyes grew wide. "Teleport?"
"Yep. But that's not all."
"It's not?" There was very noticeable concern in her voice.
"No. It now has claws; very sharp claws." He cringed as he put his hand to his cheek, angrily recalling the pain that said claws had inflicted on him. "It got me pretty good."
Rosalina trembled. "I saw that." Her shaking increased. "Do we have any hope of defeating it."
"Uh…I don't know. As long as we catch it in it's infancy, then we might have a chance. However…" He bit his lip. "It's maturing at an alarming rate."
"You don't say." Rosalina's furrowed brow almost made Aster want to get under the covers of his bed and cry. "How much longer until you think it's fully mature?"
Aster grit his teeth. "Not long enough." He looked into her eyes, looking as serious as the plague. "This puffling is a very early bloomer."
Rosalina put her hands on the table and bit her lip. "So we don't have much time."
"No. We do not." Aster wiped his mouth and stood up straight. "Which is why I need to go out again."
"NO!" Rosalina jumped to her feet and grabbed hold of his wrist. Her turquoise eyes had tears welling up in the corners.
Aster hated seeing her in states like this. He took a deep breath and tried to prevent his voice breaking as he spoke. "Rose, I need to. That thing's power is growing, and unless we stop it in time…well, you know what will happen."
Rosalina was crying now. Tears streamed down her face. Aster trembled a little, feeling put on the spot in the worst sort of way.
"Damn it." He looked into her eyes, feeling misty eyed himself. "You really aren't going to let me go, huh?"
Rosalina didn't speak; just shook her head. "I can't."
Aster let out a breath. No matter how many beatings that this little devil inflicted on him, he need to get back up and keep searching for it. Otherwise, once it was fully mature, then it would destroy them all. Every star in the universe would explode, leaving any planets that were not within their solar systems submerged in eternal darkness and cold. Aster couldn't let that happen. He loved this universe. He loved those stars. He had seen a majority of them grow up, after all. Rosalina did too. Surely, she would understand that he needed to keep going.
"Rosie…" He sounded firm when he spoke. He was not going to back down. He couldn't. "Please." He didn't bother going into detail. He knew Rosalina understood the consequences of letting that devilish little puffball go free.
Unfortunately, Rosalina still cried. Clearly overwhelmed with emotion that clouded her logical centers, her trembled as she spoke. "We already got separated once. I'm not letting it happen again."
This made Aster paused. He recalled those days when he was stuck on a planet, all alone without anyone to bring him home. He visualized Rosalina's face more than once during those lonely intervals, and would always break down crying as a result. He had longed to be in her presence for almost a century, literally lightyears away. Those lightyears had made the depression worse. Worse for both of them.
So, Aster surrendered with a sigh. "I don't want to lose you either." He took her hand. "I hated not being able to see you."
Rosalina nodded, the tears in her eyes looking like the endangered stars. "And I you. I thought…I thought you were dead."
Aster's heart broke. She sounded so dejected. He could only imagine the heartbreak she had endured while they were apart. But he knew that anything his mind could come up with would be proven inferior in comparison to what had actually occurred in reality. He smiled at her, tears sliding down his own face now.
"Damn it," he said again. He wiped away his tears before doing the same for Rose. "I don't want to leave you behind, Rose. I really don't." He wrapped his arms around her waist. "I want to stay together for another million and ten years."
Rosalina sniffled as she put on a smile. "Always the romantic, Aster." She put her hands on his shoulders. "I want that too."
Aster smiled before giving her another kiss. It was a short one, but one just as sweet and passionate as its predecessor. When he pulled away, he smiled a little. "I guess the only solution is to go look for it together." His face fell. "But I don't want to endanger you. Or the lumas."
Rosalina smiled. "That won't be a problem. There's safety in numbers, you know. Besides, I can hold my own." Her smile transitioned into a mischievous one. "Do you want to throw down so I can prove it?"
Aster laughed. "No, that's not necessary." He sucked in a breath once the laughter ceased. "So I guess it's settled. You're…coming with me."
"Yes." They walked out of the kitchen together. Rosalina had an extra amount of oomph in her step. Aster, despite his nervousness, would be lying if he said her determination wasn't inspiring. He too walked with a little extra oomph right before Rosalina rose into the air and cast the travel spell on the Observatory. The Comet Observatory morphed into it's more condensed, rocket-like state as the blue force field surrounded it. The lumas squeed as they took off.
Rosalina laughed as she floated back down to her husband. Her confidence as the Observatory zipped through space made his heart tickle. "We'll get rid of it. Don't worry."
"Okay." Despite that sentiment, Aster couldn't help but worry. He knew he needed to keep a clear head, as he wouldn't be able to battle the puffling if he was quivering in his boots. He needed to stay strong. For Rosalina's sake.
So, with every intention of staying true to that last thought, he folded his hands and began to pray. "Grambi, please let us win against the puffling." Another thought occurred to him, one that caused his stomach to squirm. "What's more, PLEASE don't let anyone else get hurt by it. I would never be able to live with myself if anyone wound up in critical condition. Especially Rose or the Lumas." He sighed, said amen, and unfolded his hands. Surefully Grambi would be nice this time and actually grant him his request.
Right?
