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Once upon a time, in a world far away.
The day surrended to night, the sun traded spots with the moon for its turn to shine. Pinprick lights gradually appeared in the dark skies, shining bright with all their might.
Newspawns, beaming with child-like wonder, were tucked into bed and kissed good night. Other inphernals drifted into a deep slumber, peacefully letting the tiredness overtake them and bring them into worlds unheard of.
Up above, beyond the sky, there hid a castle in the clouds. Far away from inphernal activity, it stayed unknown, safe and sound. With walls built from strong-willed stone, and windows crafted from stained glass, it stood fearlessly. In the highest tower lived a prince. Just like regular inphernals, he has heard stories. But not stories of distant lands nor magic and wizard bands. Instead he was told of cities with concrete buildings which scraped the skies, individualistic inphernals with relations and ties.
Up above, away from life, he was lonely. He would often gaze at the stars through his window, that was why they called him 'Stargazer', because he was legitimately that. The stars were beautiful. He could watch them in their respective constellations, drifting around the endless sea of space, for hours on end. Although, Stargazer envied the stars. They were all way up in the cosmos with each other, there were so many of them to keep themselves company. Company, he would whisper that word to himself, it was something he never actually had. He had knights beside him all the time, keeping him 'company'. But it never felt enough, it never felt real.
What a predicament he was in. He was just above people he could talk to, connect with, play with. And he was just below stars who he could spend time with, who could be with him for millions of years to come.
Stargazer did not accept this lonesome life. Against his knights' will, he had planned to sneak out and visit the world which thrived below him. He had crept out of the castle in his tailored suit, and now stood on a small piece of land which suspended the castle in the air. He crouched behind some bushes and looked over the edge. The large plane of land below casted in shadow by the night. Tiny artificial lights shone, just like the stars in the night sky.
Slowly, he stood up. He felt the cold night wind blow at his face. He cautiously takes a step out. Since he could float, he had nothing to worry. However, despite that, he was just a tiny bit afraid of the unforeseeable. It was a body-quaking thrill he could not get rid of. His eyes lit up at the opportunity before him, he had almost done it, almost.
"Thy Highness! Thy Highness! Why art you out hither?"
Stargazer hurriedly retracted his leg. He turned around to see two of his knights, Egobworder, the one who shouted out, and Follower Sword, who trailed behind the other. They cartoonishly ran towards him, clearly panicked.
Stopping in front of the prince, Egobworder bent over his knees, catching his breath. Meanwhile, Follower Sword looked at Stargazer, then peered over his shoulders, at the sight beyond the edge. He grew suspicious, raising an eyebrow. The prince caught onto his suspicion, becoming infinitely nervous.
"What art you scheming."
"Nought at all!"
The knight narrowed his eyes, clearly not buying his poorly thought through lie. He then asked him to explain why he was out here at that hour.
Oh, his dreams were over. There was no way Stargazer could convince his knights to let him go.
Follower Sword noticed how Stargazer stayed silent. He stepped closer and reached out a hand, wanting to guide Stargazer back into the castle for rest.
However, Stargazer subconsciously stepped backwards. His foot met nothing but air, causing him to scramble for balance. His knights tried to rush forward to catch him, but he ended up falling down regardless. Egobworder fell to his knees, still trying to reach out to his fallen prince. Follower Sword stood at the edge of the land in utter disbelief, unsure of what to do next.
"Katana'll seize our scalps!"
Follow Sword scoffed at his partner's overly dramatic exclamation.
"Our Highness'll be whole, he knows flight." Follower Sword put an arm on the other's shoulder.
"I hope."
In a fit of alarm, Stargazer forgot about his own ability to levitate. He went crashing down onto Earth, screaming as he zoomed through the air, unaware of what fate had in store.
-
A cupid sat under a cherry tree on a hill. He slumped against the trunk, watching the pink cherry petals drift down and land on the soft grass. He eyed the green and the pink wind chimes tied onto a branch, a sign that there used to be two inphernals who valued this place as much as him. But the ones who had left it have long passed. Just a few moments ago, they were all together, laughing and chatting their mouths off without a care in the world. And now, they were gone.
Cupidshot never knew platonic love, let alone romance. He was cursed to forever watch other inphernals fall in love, get engaged, married, then die together with graves right next to each other's. He blessed eyes and touched the hearts with the purest beauty of love, indirectly answering love letters and matchmaking perfect couples. But what about him? He was alone. Love had always seemed like the greatest solution to all problems, and it was the only thing he could not be graced with.
That was until Vine Staff and Shuriken arrived. They made him feel cared about, they were his family. They visited him every day. Vine Staff would rant about flora and her plants, while tying flower crowns and sneaking roses in his hair. Shuriken used to creep up and scare the wits right out of him. He had always apologised afterwards and gifted him decorative knots in various shapes to make up for it, though.
If only they could live forever, just like him.
Cupidshot's vision grew blurry. But then, he looked up at the night sky. What a sight. The stars were not shy that night.
He could see all the different constellations. 'Libra, Taurus, Cancer, Pisces...' He silently recited in his mind. His tears started to dry up as he continued to look for stars.
When looking a bit closer at Cancer, he noticed something near one of its pinchers. It had a sparkle, just like a star, and it was slicing through the night sky. He could almost hear Vine Staff's voice.
"A shooting star! Quick, make a wish!"
He closed his eyes and did just that.
He did not believe in miracles, never once did. He was not even sure why he tried wishing on a silly star. But he still did. He waited a moment, then heard a weird sound. He tried to ignore it for a bit, but it just became louder. It sounded like it was getting closer. And it sounded like a scream.
He opened his eyes and the sight he was behold with left him bewildered.
A blue inphernal with a neat suit was currently diving full speed at him like a meteorite. The inphernal sounded like a disaster alarm with his dragged out yell.
Cupidshot shut his eyes and let out a terrified, and equally confused scream as they collided.
The impact seemed to knock the 'meteorite' out cold. He landed right on top of Cupidshot. Surprisingly, the latter was not injured.
Cupidshot rightfully had no idea of what to do next. It was not every day a random guy appears from the sky and falls right smack onto you. He stared at the other while thinking of a flawless solution to get him out of this mess. The unconscious inphernal had symmetrical and well-kept blue horns. He wore a sort of masquerade mask which matched his pristine suit. Stars and sparkles were sprinkled onto his outfit like a dazzling finishing touch.
After much consideration, Cupidshot decided that the best course of action is to somehow squeeze himself out from under the other, run away, and make himself forget all about it. He braced his two hands onto a patch of grass behind him and began to carefully maneuver out of this plight. He made extra sure to not awaken the latter, that would be a deathly awkward and objectively worse situation.
Cupidshot managed to slide most of his body out. When he was finally granted freedom as he got out his leg, the other's head, which was previously set on said leg, hit the floor with a dangerously loud thud. The former was faced with a flight-or-fight situation and chose freeze. He immediately stilled up, daring not to move in case the circumstance was still remediable.
Too bad for Cupidshot, the inphernal stirred. While rubbing his forehead to try to mitigate the aching migraine, he brought himself up with his free hand. He lifted his head upwards and saw the other, mildly startled by the presence.
Although the air was apprehensive, when they met eyes, the world around them seemed to slow down. Cupidshot stared at the other, the other stared back at him. The stars sparkled with eagerness, as if they were the quiet audience of the two's accidental meet-up. There was no movement more than one caused by a gentle breeze. They stayed like that for awhile. Stargazer decided to get up from the ground but did not expect Cupidshot to coincidentally do the same.
Stargazer's cheeks became tinted with a shade of blush. He purposefully broke eye contact, pretending to dust off his suit instead. Seeing this, Cupidshot looked away as well, feeling that it was wrong to keep staring. He crossed his arms and went to gaze at the view, overlooking the horizon.
Stargazer brushed off his vest, coat tail, pants, and even adjusted his sleeve cuffs twice. He triple checked every spot on his outfit, at least acted like he was doing so. The blush had disappeared as something else went into his mind. "What has he gotten into?" He scolded himself for even thinking that his previous plan was going to work. Now he was stuck in a bit of a pickle with a cherubic and extremely pink inphernal, who was probably judging him right that second.
Stargazer peeked at the inphernal in question, quickly realising that the other was not paying any attention to him. His meant-to-be brief glance turned into him closely examining the inphernal in front of him. He noticed the various pieces of gold jewelry the latter was adorned with. They shined under the moon light, certainly catching Stargazer's eye. His eyes then darted towards the other's wings. The feathers slightly swayed in the wind, he might have already reached out and grabbed it if he had any less self-restraint. He heard Cupidshot start humming a nostalgic tune, one he was sure that he had never heard, but still sounded familiar, like a voice from a distant pass he could not remember.
Lost in thought, Stargazer did not notice the other eyeing him with a discomfiting look on his face. Cupidshot cleared his throat. Stargazer snapped out of his daze and blinked back into reality. His eyes met Cupidshot's once again, he felt his face burn up, more from fluster than anything.
Cupidshot, seeming hesitant to speak, somehow squeezed out the few words of concern he could possibly express at the moment, "You doing alright?"
Despite not fully understanding what he meant by that, Stargazer replied at least half-mindedly, "What doth thou mean?"
"You just fell from the heavens." He glanced upwards before looking back at Stargazer. "You sure you didn't hit your head?"
"I am completely whole." Although it was true, he was unexpectedly unscathed from the fall, he straightened his posture a bit to make it seem more believable.
Cupidshot sighed and muttered an 'okay', then proceeded to walk onto a patch of grass away from the tree's shade. He slowly laid down, feeling the tiny pricks of the grass beneath him. He rested his hands under his head to make himself feel more comfortable.
Stargazer watched Cupidshot's actions, then tried mimicking him to lay down beside him.
Cupidshot heard the grass crinkle from the other's movements, he minded it much less than he thought.
The silence was not to be described as comfortable, but it was not unsettling either. The wind shook the leaves til they rustled; Bells of the wind chimes sang Mother Nature's song; Crickets joined in the quiet symphony.
These tunes, previously unknown to Stargazer, caught his attention. He shifted to get a look at what was making the ringing sound. On a long branch hung two ornaments which had bells attached to each of them. Stargazer grew curious of what they were, there were not any of those in his castle, and they produced such a charming melody.
"What art those peculiar trinkets?" He asked, pointing a finger at them.
Cupidshot glanced at what Stargazer was referring to, then sighed, "Wind chimes."
"What intent doth they serve?"
"Mementos, I guess."
"Mementos? Of what significance?"
Cupidshot swallowed a bitter pill before responding. "They were... From some friends..."
"Friends? May you not meet with them?"
"No, I may not."
"Why is that?"
"They're dead."
Stargazer emitted a soft 'oh' at the realisation. He cursed himself out mentally for his stupidity, this was not a good impression to leave on his first day on Earth. He stayed silent, brain desperately piecing together words to form a sentence that would not make this situation worse.
"Mine sincerest apologies..." He tried to salvage conversation. "... Mine dispensable inquiries have caused some unnecessary damage to thee."
He looked over at Cupidshot to check his expression, which was blank.
"I shalt not say more." He declared.
Cupidshot thought for a moment. The inphernal beside him sure talked archaically, but he honestly found it quite charming.
"It's alright, you didn't know," he responded, "say, I haven't caught your name yet."
"Why wouldst thou 'catch' mine name?" Stargazer asked, with all seriousness.
"No, not like that!" Cupidshot almost giggled. "I haven't learned your name yet."
Stargazer let out another 'oh', still slightly confused but almost there. "Then, mine name is Stargazer. Learn it well."
"Mine is Cupidshot."
"That's a pleasant name."
Cupidshot muttered a 'thanks' before going quiet. He felt lighthearted, he had almost forgotten the feeling; Or maybe it was something else he had never felt before. Although initially he was quite bothered by the other's unanticipated crash landing, now he was not as irritated with his company.
A blossom slowly drifted away from its branch, the wind cradled it in its arms and carried it towards Stargazer. It landed gently onto his nose. He pinched it lightly, picking it up and closely inspecting it. He sat up and twisted his hips to look behind, then finally noticing the hundreds and thousands of pink cherry blossoms which bloomed on each branch.
He had never seen a sight so fetching.
Cupidshot noticed. "That's a cherry tree. Have you never seen one?"
"Never hast I laid eyes upon such."
Cupidshot stood up and walked towards the tree, Stargazer following behind. The cherubic inphernal ran his hand along the rough bark as he reminisced a lost memory.
"It was taken care of by my sister." He paused. "Well, technically not sister, we weren't related..."
Stargazer studied the other's face as he continued.
"... I still remember when this tree was only a sapling. It was withering and everyone was sure it was gone for good."
"Until she- I mean -they came."
"Who was the other one?" Stargazer blurted out.
"My 'sister's' brother. Which makes us 'brothers'. Anyway- she somehow nurtured it back to life, and it grew faster and stronger than I've ever seen before..."
Cupidshot rambled on as Stargazer remained an attentive audience. He listened as Cupidshot's mellifluous voice floated into his ears like a soothing melody.
The both of them gradually lost track of time amidst their yak, simply forgetting it from being too busy with each other, in each other's company. Wishing on a star really does work, especially if the star was your wish itself. Both of them got what they have dreamt about that night, not being alone.
Unfortunately, good times never once last.
Cupidshot finished his rant, he now leaned awkwardly against the tree, savouring the cool atmosphere. The wind chimes rung as the wind blew yet again.
Stargazer watched the other, absentmindedly uttering a single sentence.
"Mine ear is much enamored of thy note; So is mine eye enthrallèd to thy shape."
Cupidshot stared for a moment, stunned, before confusion seeped into his expression.
"What'd you mean?"
"Nought."
The sun rose, taking back its place from the moon. The stars retreated back into their abodes, resting after a whole night's worth of fun.
That was when Stargazer realised what he had done. His knights were not going to be pleased. He would have wanted to stay for a while more to admire the sunrise, however, he had to choice but to return to the castle immediately.
The two destined souls bid adieu. Cupidshot watched as Stargazer left, just as mysteriously as how he came. He secretly hoped that they would meet again.
-
"For what hath you went down to Earth, Thy Highness?" Follower Medkit carefully checked Stargazer's body for any signs of injury.
Stargazer's outerwear sat folded on his king-sized bed. The sleeves on his undershirt were rolled up to make it easier for Follower Medkit to examine his arms.
"You art blessed to be unscathed from that fall." The doctor rolled the prince's sleeves back down. "Your knights were deathly worried about you."
Stargazer felt a tinge of guilt for causing so much trouble for his knights. That guilt quickly subsided when he heard a loud screech coming from down his tower. It was impressive how loud it was to be able to be heard from all the way down there.
"Have mercy!" Egobworder's voice echoed through the castle.
"KNAVES! HOW DARE YE LET THE PRINCE GET IN HARM'S WAY!" Follower Katana bellowed, followed up by a series of terrified screams of a Follower Sword and Egobworder.