Dream (Wish 2)

A New Dream

Asha walks over to Amaya and assures her,

"Magnifico is gone, for good,"

Amaya smiles, knowing her past will never haunt her again. Sakina runs up to Asha and embraces her.

"Your father and saba would be so proud of you. You've done it again baby," Sakina praises.

"Oh, Mom," Asha says, feeling tears build up in her eyes as she embraces her mother. She notices behind her are her friends. She runs over to them and group hugs them.

"Wow, my best friend does it again," said an impressed Dahlia

"That was amazing!" exclaimed Hal.

"Incredible," Gabo complimented.

"You know, I think you just put the 'fairy' in 'fairy godmother,'" said Dario, to which they all shared a laugh. Asha suddenly remembers she has wings on her back. Like the three fairies in Sleeping Beauty, she taps her wand to her back making them vanish.

"I couldn't have done it without Earendel," Asha remarked, suddenly remembering him. She sees him looking up to the sky. The excited tone of the crowd shifted to silence inside her head, with a hurtful realization.

"You have to go now, don't you?" Asha uttered, not wanting to admit it. "You need to be there for others to wish upon,"

Earendel looks back up, this time at the same star he saw through the forest canopy.

"Maybe not," he says as he holds Asha's hands. Asha hears a hint of excitement in his voice but doesn't understand why.

Stepping away from her, Earendel looks to the brightest star in the sky and recites an ancient incantation he found among Magnifico's notes.

"Star Light, Star Bright, first star I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might, have this wish I wish tonight, I wish to stay on Earth,"

Suddenly, a blue light shines down upon him, like a spotlight on a theater stage. A mysterious voice is heard. The voice sounds like it could belong to none other than the blue fairy.

"Noble morning star, you have given so much to the cosmos. You deserve to have your wish come true," the voice declared. Asha tapped her wand to her back and flew into the blue light with her new wings.

"But without a wishing star, where in the sky will we look too?" Asha asked the mysterious voice.

"Dear fairy godmother, I, the evening star, shall be the new wishing star. Look to me when you feel lost, and I will be there to guide you, just like the wishing star before me." the voice reassured her. The blue spotlight surrounding them slowly dims just as the dawn breaks. Asha slowly descends back to the ground, amazed at what had just transpired. Earendel reaches up to her, and she takes his hand before her feet are on the ground.

"So, does this mean..?" she asks.

"Yes. I'm staying," he said while starting to shed tears of his own.

They embrace and after a short build-up, they kiss. As they do, the yellow aura surrounding Earendel fades, like he is Hercules choosing to be mortal.  Asha's wings slowly flap behind her. The crowd looks at them in awe, some of them even cheering.

"The Wishing Star and Fairy Godmother. Now that is quite a pairing," comments Dahlia.

A few months later:

Everyone has gathered in the arena, the same place where the former king used to hold wish-granting ceremonies. Only now, it is where a new queen is about to be crowned.

Asha walks up the stairs to the stage in a dress that bears the same colors as Amaya's royal dress.  She kneels as Amaya takes off her crown.

"Do you vow to watch over the people of Rosas, and protect their dreams from those who wish ill will?" Amaya asks the soon-to-be queen.

"I do," Asha vows.

"Then it is my honor to pronounce you..." Amaya stops mid-sentence to place the crown upon Asha's head. "Queen Asha of Rosas," Amaya proudly proclaims.

"Long live the Queen! Long live the Queen!" everyone shouts. Everyone is applauding and cheering. Earendel uses his magic to summon small fireworks above the crowd as Sakina, a proud mother, wipes away her tears. Asha taps her wand to the heavy gold crown that was once Amaya's into a light silver tiara with stars. She then casts a spell upward.  As it falls back down, she twirls, changing some of the dress's details and color to her signature light purple.

Moments later, Asha and Earendel stand before the newly restored statue of Sabino.

"Queen of Rosas. That's going to take getting used to" Asha admits. After a small pause, she remembers something she wanted to ask Earendel months ago.

"Earendel, what did you mean by 'It's you'?" asked Asha.

"What?" Earendel responded, not knowing what she was talking about.

"Right before I got my wings, you said, 'It's you'" she clarified.

"Oh yeah. Remember when I said your saba's song had to refer to something more than just me, the wishing star?" he asks excitedly.

"Yeah?" Asha responded in a confused but curious tone.

Earendel begins to recite a specific verse of Sabino's song,

"Fate is kind, she brings to those who love, the sweet fulfillment of their secret longing," When he finishes, he looks back at her and explains, "Fate refers to the fairy godmother."

"Wait", Asha begins to catch on to what he was implying. "Does that mean?"

"Sabino was referring to you", said Earendel. Asha starts feeling tears of joy once again build up in her eyes. She looks up at Sabino's statue, speechless. "In a way, his song ended up bringing me back to you," he says as he cups Asha's cheek. Asha leans into his hand as they share another kiss.

At noon, everyone gathered at the harbor to give Amaya a grand sendoff. Amaya looks back at the castle, wondering if she is making the right decision.

"Most of my life, I was part of someone else's story. How am I supposed to write my own now?" Amaya questioned while turning her gaze to Asha, who was standing next to her.

"Where one story ends, another begins. See that horizon?" Asha says while pointing out to the sea. "The moment you cross that line where the sky meets the sea, start writing because that is when your new story begins," Asha assures her. Amaya smiles and they share one last hug before she departs.

The former queen sets sail toward the horizon to search for her new dream. A few miles out, she looks back toward the kingdom she once ruled. She sees fireworks burst, three of which go off in the shape of a particular mouse. As a final way of saying 'goodbye' and 'good luck,' Asha dawns her wings and uses her wand to send a shooting star soaring over the castle.

                                                                                   The End