Wish retold: Chapter 11
I finally managed to finish new chapter, but from now on I will not promise the exact days or dates when the new content will be released. Then I feel guilty and like a liar when I can't make it on time, so we'll stick to saying roughly when the new episode might be out. So, I plan to release new chapter at the end of this week or by the start of next one.
Anyway, thank you very much for still being here and enjoying this story with me 😊. Let me know how you liked today's episode, every comment is appreciated 😊.
Magnifico
His nails dug into his palms so hard that he could no longer feel the tips of his fingers. Just a moment ago, he was imagining this situation in front of his eyes, trying to figure out what he would do when the fantasy became reality and Asha, the naive and spoiled child, stood before him. What should he do? Should he even give her a chance to try to explain it? Pff, she would probably still have the audacity to try to convince him of her truth. But if he is not going to listen to her, then the question is how to punish her? Should he curse her the moment she comes face to face with him? Or will he lock her in a dungeon and never let her out into the light of day again? How about banishing her from the island... No. No, he can't do that. He immediately rejected those ideas. Even though his rage was wracking him, he couldn't imagine himself putting a young girl on a ship and never letting her come back. And that made him even more furious. He wanted, he longed so badly that she would have to go through everything she made him go through, his insides were tearing up with how much he wanted to see the look on her face when he showed her how wrong she was. But the moment his head cooled down a bit and he saw his reflection on the huge wall that divided his study and kept his wishes safe, he realized that he didn't want to see the reflection of someone so vile in the mirrors. He made a decision and he was sure of it. This is exactly the moment when the king has to put on merciful face... even if the rude, disrespectful teen doesn't deserve it at all. But... that was a while ago.
"Y-your Highness," Asha whispered, standing safely behind Amaya's back. By opening her mouth at all, she scrapped the king's original decision to deal with the problem in peace to pieces.
After a few endless moments of nothing happening, Asha dared to step forward and step out of Amaya's shadow. However, when she stood next to her, revealing her until now hidden shoulder, on which the frightened Star was crouching, a blue light flashed through the room. It flew out of the king's outstretched right hand and before anyone could realize what had actually happened, it surrounded the Star and gradually enveloped it completely. The small creature remained trapped in a blue wish-like orb, but to make matters worse, it rose into the air and began to rapidly move away from Asha. Towards...
"No!" Asha immediately flinched and threw herself after the drifting Star, but the air around her body suddenly materialized. Amaya jumped away from her and had to rest her hand on the door frame to keep her balance. Sabino's wish that she had been carrying until now fell to the ground with a loud thud, but no one seemed to be paying attention to it.
From her knees to her neck, blue claws wrapped around Asha and grabbed her so tightly that she could barely breathe. The grip got tighter and tighter until her feet came off the floor and she too was pulled by an invisible force right to the scowling Magnifico.
The king held out his left hand, into which the orb with the captured Star slipped, while he dragged Asha across the room with his right hand. When she was only a few short steps away from him, he snapped his fingers and the girl was left hanging in the air, but his power around her was still there, ready and dangerous.
"You're going to try something and I swear that even your magic won't save her," he said through clenched teeth as he pulled Star to his face and to show he meant it, he pulled the fingers on his right hand and the magical grip around Asha was once again a little bit stronger. A painful hiss escaped the girl's mouth. The Star brought both hands to its mouth at the sight, apparently to suppress a scream, but then turned its attention to the king. Its eyes narrowed and its mouth stretched into a sinister grimace. It pierced its captor with a look of hatred so vivid and burning that it sent shivers down Magnifico's spine. He blinked quickly and glanced at Asha, whose full attention was now required to get at least some air into her lungs. Damn it. The king quickly loosened his grip slightly and Asha inhaled sharply through her mouth.
"Let her go, please!" an insistent voice called from the door, quick footsteps followed, and Amaya's face suddenly burst into Magnifico's field of vision.
"She'll stay where she is until she spills everything out!"
But his attitude suddenly changed, a terrible thought flashed through his eyes, and he quickly turned towards Amaya. "Did she hurt you?! Or was she threatening you?!" he quickly ran his eyes over her to make sure she wasn't hurt.
"She didn't do anything to me, for God's sake, I brought her here myself! You have to listen to us, please!" Amaya urged, but to no avail. She waited for a while to see if her words would reach him, but when they didn't after a while, she tried again: "Please, Magnifico, let her go! You're going to hurt her!" After these words, however, he gave her a look that took any objections or pleas from her mouth. She just stood there helplessly watching the scene in front of her.
With a quick wave of his hand, Magnifico pulled Asha a little closer.
"Well?! Start then! You wanted me to listen to you, so now you have the perfect opportunity and I advise you to use it well!" the last words were more like a rough growl.
"I-I didn't mean to hurt anyone... I'm sorry... I regret… that..." she tried to get out, but her breath wasn't enough.
"Oh, you WILL regret it, believe me! Who's with you in this?!"
"N-n-nobody! Just... me…"
Magnifico gripped her much tighter and the girl screamed in pain. The Star leaned its hands against the wall of the orb and watched it all with worries in its eyes. Amaya was shaking.
"What kind of idiot do you think I am?! You could get to the castle, sure, but here?! Hohoho, someone had to get you here. So?!"
"N...one..." she couldn't get a sound out of her.
"So, someone close to you, huh? Um, the girl from the kitchen?" Magnifico smiled sinisterly and waited for an answer. Asha's eyes snapped open and she gasped. She stared at the king, trying to find something, anything, to disprove this suspicion and save her… former best friend from his wrath. But she had nothing. Hell, how come she can't think of anything?!
Magnifico was driven insane by her silence. The thought of him throwing her in dungeon, locking the door behind her and burning the key to the dust crossed his mind. However, when he imagined how the girl was sitting in the corner of the dark room and pulling her bent legs to her chest, how she was hiding her face between her knees and her sobs were being carried throughout the castle, something in him suddenly seemed to snap. He couldn't do it, but... maybe if he just... Okay then, maybe a little scare will loosen her tongue after all.
Releasing his grip around her body for a moment, he raised his palm to his mouth and blew on it as if to blow away dust or small debris. And indeed! Hundreds of tiny particles rose into the air from his palm and formed into a strange blue mist in front of his face.
"Grab your weapons and come to me immediately! I caught a traitor," the moment he finished, the mist shot towards the door, swept over the railing of the stairs, and descended straight down. Amaya's eyes widened as she stared at the staircase in horror.
Magnifico tightened his claws around Asha again and quickly pulled her close, so close that he could feel her faint breath on his face. He narrowed his eyes and forced one corner of his lips to lift in a fake smile.
"Have we run out of words now? Um, so suddenly? Maybe—what do I know—you might benefit from spending a few days alone in some cozy little cell. You could clear your head and when we meet in a few days, maybe something will come out of you. What do you think? And… maybe you could start getting used to your new home." Asha was shaken by what he just said and a hopeless sigh escaped her mouth. Yes, it was probable... not really! It was almost CERTAIN that she wouldn't escape punishment, she didn't even intend to, but now that she heard it with her own ears... what she was facing now... she would never see her family again...
His words made Amaya come to her senses. The uncertainty was instantly gone and a wave of determination so strong swept through her that the muscles in her body tensed, ready to face anything and… anyone.
"Magnifico, she is only a child. She made a mistake, no one denies that, but she came here, without fear of the punishment you are preparing for her, to make amends."
The king took a step back and turned to Amaya, still holding Star and the startled girl captive. But his wife was not done yet: "There is no one on this island who doubts your power, my king, and your people love you. They look up to you, not only because of your strength, but also because of the kindness you give them every day. But if you reject a person, a child, who came to ask you for help to get out of a difficult situation, even though it was her own fault…" Amaya began to slowly but surely approach him. Her face was stern and her voice did not waver for a moment.
"...they'll start doubting you. If you don't show mercy now, they won't be able to be sure anymore..."
"And what can they be sure of now?! That the king won't protect them even from… from," he searched for an appropriate name, "the spoiled brat that almost destroyed their home?!"
"Everyone makes mistakes and you know it very well!" Amaya raised her voice. The strategy with the 'beloved' and 'merciful' king didn't work, but she wasn't going to give up. "She believed she was doing the right thing, even though she chose an unfortunate path. Now she's standing in front of you and she wants to help you fix it, and instead of finally starting to listen..."
"I was listening! I explained and discussed! And look where that got us! What do you want from me? I should let her go, pat her on the shoulder and say: 'Nothing happened. Never mind that you almost killed me, it happens!' Am I supposed to say that?!"
"Perhaps now it would be better to finally shut your mouth for a while! If you had done it then, none of this would have happened!"
Magnifico bared his teeth and frowned even more so that his brows now almost blended into one line.
"No, Amaya, the king is not silent when threatened, but leads and makes difficult decisions that the rest of you do not have the guts for. If they doubt me, so be it, but at least they will know that their king did what was necessary to protect them."
"You can't do that! You can't just throw her in jail and separate her from her loved ones! She is a child, Magnifico, and I know her mother very well. Both she and her grandpa are nice and kind people and..."
"And what, Amaya?!"
"And I won't let you take a child from its mother!" her scream echoed off the walls and silenced everything. There was something unspoken in the air that only the king and his queen could understand.
Magnifico flinched and his expression changed immediately. He opened his mouth and gasped. There was not a trace, not even a single hint of anger left in his face. At first he was surprised, but soon his wide eyes were filled with pain. Huge and cruel agony, the same as the one that now radiated from Amaya's face. They both stood motionless, but there was something in their eyes that no one else could understand. Together, they gazed back to what had been lost in the distant past, but still managed to cause suffering so vivid today that it chilled everyone in the room.
"Your Highness!" came the voice that woke them all up. A breathless soldier with hand on his weapon stood motionless in the doorway, watching the scene before him. Magnifico looked up at him, but then slowly returned his gaze to Amaya, who was standing right in front of him. He measured her with his gaze once more, but then closed his eyes and gritted his teeth again with a heavy sigh. He longed to tell her and assure her that he would never in his life do something so cruel as to separate a child from its family, no matter what it was guilty of. The look in her eyes tore him to pieces, but he couldn't tell the truth. At least not now.
When he lifted his eyelids again, he did not give Amaya a single look anymore. Instead, he looked at the soldier who was still standing by the door, not knowing what was going on.
"Everything is under control, drop that sword," Magnifico's voice lost any color.
The soldier hesitated for a while, looking nervously between the people in front of him, but finally he sighed, straightened up and finally removed his hand from the hilt of the sword.
"Did you do what you were supposed to?"
"Y-yes, your majesty! We placed our guest in one of the cells, as you instructed us."
Magnifico waved his right hand and Asha suddenly flew across the room. At one of the many tables, the king dropped her violently to the ground. She managed to stay on her feet, but then the magic hit her shoulders once again and she slid down onto the chair behind her. Her butt landed on the cold wood and her back hit the hard backrest. Just when she thought Magnifico was done with her, the magical snake wrapped around her again and tied her tightly to the massive chair.
"You're going to sit right there, not move, and not a single sound will come out of your mouth! When I come back and find you an inch away…"
"I won't even move, I promise," Asha whispered, looking straight into his eyes.
"Heh, you promise? Well, how could I possibly have trouble trusting you, huh, Asha?" he snapped sarcastically, rolling his eyes and sighing in frustration. He pulled the orb he was still clutching in his left hand up to his face.
"You're coming with me. Let's see if you can fix something instead of spreading destruction," he strained through his teeth with a look piercing the small creature. The Star frowned at him and put its hands on its hips. However, Magnifico no longer paid attention to it. He lowered his arm with the orb along his body and looked once more into the eyes of his wife, who was now smiling softly at him, but he did not return her smile. He took a deep breath and made his way to the door, where a guard was waiting for him.
"You stay here and don't take your eyes off her! I'll be right back," he once again turned to the women behind him and jumped with his eyes from one to the other, but both avoided his gaze. Of course, now HE will be the worst one. Sure, why not?!
He rolled his eyes and set off on his way to the deepest corners of the castle.
"Dammit!" he yelled, leaning against the wet stone wall with an outstretched hand so as not to lose his balance. He gasped for breath and the image before his eyes darkened for a moment, sweat running down his forehead. The remnants of the spell he had just tried to cast scattered into thin air.
He shook his head and took a deep breath to rid himself of the sickening weakness. He didn't want to admit it - as if he even could - but the spell he'd used in the city to stop the herd charging straight at him had drained him too much. A shiver ran through his body and for a brief moment he felt same heat that was burning him all over not long ago. Fortunately, this time he was able to defeat it before it consumed him. However, he probably should have not lost his head with Asha up there in the study room, he didn't achieve anything by it and in addition, he lost more strength.
But what bothered him the most was the fact that even if he was at his full power, he probably wouldn't be able to reverse what Asha and Star had done. The magic of any human could never match the magic of the stars… that frightened him.
When he finally caught his breath, he pulled himself away from the wall and glanced over the huge man lying on several blankets at his feet. For several minutes he tried in every possible way to return him to his original form, but all attempts ended in the same failure.
With a sigh, he raised his left hand and addressed the Star caught in the blue ball, but it immediately turned its back on him: "That's enough, don't try to make me angry more than I already am! This is your job, so, can you reverse it or not?"
However, the Star did not even move and refused to communicate with him as it had been doing since they left the study hall. He could swear at small creature and threaten it, but nothing would work. A snarl escaped the king's throat, he shot out his hand with the Star and held it out directly to the sleeping man, giving the small creature a nice close-up view.
"You see him?! He's going to stay that way until we can get him out of this, and if you don't cooperate, that could take a looong time, you understand? I want to help him, dammit! I'm just asking you to tell me if there's anything you can do about it. Not for me, but for him and the others you got into this mess."
The Star turned sharply towards him and its face showed surprise. Magnifico pulled it to his face: "Well, don't look at me like that! I'm not a fool! It's clear to me that you didn't just take this one wish."
The Star glared at him again, but this time it didn't turn away from him. It looked over its shoulder at the giant on the ground for a long time, as if it was thinking about something. Turning its attention back to Magnifico, it still didn't look thrilled, but finally decided to start talking. It shook its little head and pointed at itself. The king frowned and tried to understand what it wanted to indicate to him.
"Um, y-you can't undo it?"
The Star nodded.
"But... but you granted the wish, so why can't you take it back?"
The Star pointed at itself again, shook its head, and then its hand shot up. Magnifico wasn't sure he got it right.
"W-Wait… You didn't fulfill it?"
A nod.
"Then who?"
The tiny hand shot up several times. There was silence for a moment, but then it finally dawned on Magnifico.
"Asha? Did Asha fulfill his wish?"
The narrowed-eyed Star started slowly clapping, but the king, lost in thought, missed the gesture.
Asha granted that wish, which means Star had to lend the girl its power. But... that girl doesn't know anything about magic, so how could she cast such a powerful spell and make wishes come true? C-could it really just be an accident? But if she doesn't have the knowledge and skills, then... then they can't fix it. At least not right away. And it was this realization that led Magnifico to the last but worst thought: this is not over. If Asha really took multiple wishes and inadvertently granted them…
Magnifico gasped and the lid of his right eye began to twitch for a moment in an unpleasant tic.
He ran out of the cell, slamming the door behind him, and started down the long, dark corridor, but before he left it, he stopped abruptly and turned around. He stretched out his right hand in the direction he had just come from and spread his fingers painfully. The cell walls pulsated and then a blue glow surrounded them all. Done, now the stone should hold even if their uninvited guest woke up and went on a rampage again. He won't get out of that room.
Magnifico turned away from the dungeons and started running to his study. He can't waste time, he has to get out of Asha, whose and most importantly what wishes she actually fulfilled. If she has taken another ones similar to this, then he must act immediately. Even if it probably means that he will have to go after them himself...
