Royally Divine

Chapter 2: Stars and Smiles

After dinner King Hart, who I'm just going to call 'Mr.Hart' because by now I think we've established that he's the king, invited me and my father to stay the weekend. In his words exactly it was to "get a feel of how we run things, and how Astro acts so that nothing's a surprise in the future." Didn't really make much sense, but hey, a weekend away from home? Count me in!

My father was a little hesitant but, after some pushing, he finally allowed us to stay. It's only for two days. What's the worst that could happen?

Astro showed me around, we didn't really talk much until we reached the upstairs area.

"How do you deal with him?" He started, walking me through the many corridors.

"With who?"

"Your dad. He seems like...a piece of work."

"Oh, the old man? I got used to it. I usually try to ignore his snide remarks, but stuff happens." I shrugged.

"Oh? My pops is a total pushover. I don't really take advantage of it... mostly, but his backbone is practically made of aluminum. He doesn't really like to argue."

"Ha! I wish. My dad needs everything followed to a T otherwise the world is ending." I laughed and ran my fingers through my dark hair. "He can be pushy. I'm surprised it didn't show tonight."

"I'm sure I'll see what you mean later this weekend." He smiled a little. Astro came to a stop by a large glass door that led outside to a balcony.

"Ooh, this is my favorite spot." He said, grabbing my wrist and pulling me outside.

I didn't really mind the contact if I'm honest. It's nice having someone give you contact that isn't through anger.

"Huh? Why is that?" I questioned, wondering why out of all the places in this castle the boy's favorite was one of the many balconies.

Astro took a deep breath of the crisp, winter air; and he sighed as the breeze hit his face. "Look up. This is the best view. Well, other than the roof. You can see everything. The town lights, the stars, the moon. Everything. It's awesome." He explained happily while leaning against the railing, looking out into the distance.

"Yeah. Yeah, I guess it is pretty cool." I looked over at him, he seemed content; happy with himself.

"We never really have these sort of views in Malum. It's usually too full of city lights to see the stars. It's beautiful when we do though." I added, looking back over the edge.

"Really? You don't get to see this every night? All the constellations? Damn, that's sad. I don't know what I'd do without this little bit of peace." Astro's eyes went from the view, to me. He looked a little sad, as if he felt bad.

"You know what? I'll make this the most eventful weekend of your life...wait... what's your name again?" He asked sheepishly.

I laughed, I found it funny that he was so ready to have fun that he forgot that we just met. "My name's Elijah." I replied, sounding a lot softer than I intended.

"Elijah.." He repeated, a lopsided grin spread over his face. "Well, Elijah, I make it my personal mission to help make this as fun as I possibly can for you."

"I count on it, Hart." I said, trying not to smile so much.

"Astro. Just call me Astro." He didn't even bother hiding his wide smile. It complimented his features nicely.

"Okay, Astro. I'll hold you to that then. Don't make me regret trusting you with my time."

"I promise, you won't regret a thing." Astro declared, confident that everything would go perfect.