#i get that the first eric/ariel gif is sad but i... didn't know where else to put it since aquamarine was more comedic in tone

[annymation]

The Kingdom of Wishes- A “Wish” Rewrite

Chapter 9- Tangible Things

Chapter 8

Asha and Aster are walking through the kingdom of Rosas.

There's people everywhere, walking through the streets, all of them wearing the same style of medieval clothings with dull shades of blues, yellows and purples. The people of Rosas are all very diverse in ethnicities... But their cultures are not showcased at all through their clothing styles.

Asha walks through the sea of people wearing her mom's cloak, she's wearing the hoodie so her face is not visible.

Meanwhile, Aster is "wearing" his human disguise, looking like any average human teenager... If you ignore the uncommon combination of brown skin and blonde hair, as well as his black clothes with a looong cape that doesn't quite blend in with everyone else's clothing style.

... And the fact he's as happy as Ariel on her first tour with Eric through the kingdom. Or Rapunzel getting to know her kingdom for the first time, yeah, he has those same big eyes full of wonder.

If you ignore all that, yeah he's just a normal human, nothing to see here.

"Okay Aster, stay close to me. We're almost at the plaza..." She got no response "Aster?" She looks behind her shoulder

... Aaaaand Aster is nowhere to be seen.

Asha scrunches her eyebrows in frustration, she's gonna have to put a bell on that star.

Asha feels a slight dejavu feeling from that dream she had last night.

She scrunches her eyebrows in frustration, now contemplating putting a bell on that star "*sigh*... At least you know how to behave, huh Valentino?" she says to the baby goat walking next to her, Valentino is just happily wagging his tail.

She takes off the her hoodie for a moment to get a better view of her surroundings

"Now where could he be?" She sounds worried, looking around, but there's no sign of the star.

Asha just took her hoodie for a moment...

But just a moment was enough for two people to notice her...

She hears someone calling her name in the distance

"asha! asha-when I catch you asha! asha! when I catch you- it is on sight!! you are so-"

The voice is getting closer. Asha looks around at the sea of people walking, but she can't seem to find who's calling her, the girl voice gets louder:

"do you have any idea what lives iN THAT FOREST? YOU ARE TOO YOUNG TO DIE BEING EATEN BY WOLVES! YOU'RE TOO BEAUTIFUL!!!"

A second voice joins in, male this time

"DAHLIA! WAIT UP *huff huff* I can't run that fast!"

Asha turns around and... Yup, it's Dahlia and Simon.

Despite the fact that Dahlia walks with a crutch she's moving way faster than him, that's not even to emphasize how slow Simon is, no, Dahlia just so happens to run really fast in general.

They finally reach the girl wearing the purple cloak, and she seems preeetty nervous about having to explain the whole situation

"Oh- hehe hey guys" Asha waves to her friends awkwardly

Dahlia was having none of that "OHOHO Don't "Hey guys" me! Where were you last night?? My mom was worried sick"

"We woke up early to go looking for you, we were just on our way to get the others" Simon said while trying to catch his breath

"I'm fine, really. I just needed a take a walk you know? Get some air, and then I slept in my old home." She tries her best to calm them down "Dahlia, you didn't have to organize a search party for me, I can take care of myself." She tells her best friend.

"Actually, it was Simon's idea, he's the one who went to wake me up"

That surprised Asha

"... Simon... Woke up early?"

"That's how worried I was" He said with his usual monotonous voice "And... I wanted to apologize, last night I accidentally-... I assumed that you were crying because of something YOU did, without knowing the whole story, I shouldn't have pressured you to tell us like that... I'm sorry"

(Aww Simon is so nice... I sure hope he never does anything lame or stupid or uncool to his friends, that would be so sad.)

Asha kinda needed that apology, she gives him a warm smile

"Thanks for saying that Simon, it means a lot. And sorry for stepping on your foot... And running away." She places a hand on the back of her neck as she says that.

"Honestly, if I found out that the king wouldn't ever grant my wish, I'd feel really awful too" Simon, ironically, is the one who comments this

Asha remembers... Oh yeah she mentioned that to them.

"Yeah speaking of which... What is up with that?!" Dahlia exclaims, looking outraged "I mean, they put you on the spot, call you to come in their house, get your wish, and then they just say "Oh actually noooo, we won't grant your wish" HUH?! That's not fair at all." She rants with her arms crossed

Asha is just kinda nodding in agreement, like, what really happened was waaaay worse than that but yeah Dahlia got the spirit.

Simon doesn't seem to relate with her frustration though.

"Did they tell you why they weren't gonna grant your wish?" Simon asks.

Asha analyses the situation... She could tell them the truth, she could tell them everything she has seen... But then again, if she tells them, they might be in danger... She told Aster that she wanted to plan this out before acting, involving her friends is a big risk, so for now... She would have to lie.

"They... They just said they couldn't do it, nothing else happened, really" She said, trying her best to sound honest but kinda failing, her friends didn't seem to notice though.

"... Seriously? They didn't even say why?" Dahlia is dumbfounded.

"... Now I understand why you were crying..." Simon sounds really sad for his friend "But even still, you shouldn't have gone to the woods all by yourself-"

"Who said she was by herself?"

Simon and Dahlia jump in surprise because of the unknown cheerful voice coming from behind them

They turn around and see Aster... holding a bouquet of purple flowers.

Asha can feel a drop of sweat running down her forehead... This might be way harder to explain.

"Aster where were y-" Asha is about to lecture the star, but she is stopped when he shows her the flowers he got by holding them right in front of her face.

"Asha look! These flowers are called "Aster" just like me! and they're your favorite color too!"

(Hahaah told y’all I’d reference these flowers!)

Aster hands her the bouquet, but in a way that her face is covered by the flowers for a second before she manages to hold it by herself

"O-OH Yeah I can see that... thanks Aster, they're really pretty heh heh" She says nervously, as she notice her two friends staring at Aster and then staring back at her.

"Uuuh so I take it your name's "Aster"?" Simon asks, looking at the boy from head to toe.

Aster turns around to greet them

"That's me! So nice to meet you two!"

Aster gives Dahlia a handshake...

And we take a look on what he sees

Now you see, Aster can naturally take a peek on what's someone's wants and beliefs, but when he touches someone... They can see something even more special.

He sees that person's star, their center, what makes them who they are.

When Aster touches Dahlia's hand, we see how her star looks like.

It's bright, red, and full of determination to achieve whatever she sets her mind to...

If confidence was a tangible thing, it would be Dahlia.

from the other's point of view, Aster is just shaking her hand quickly and very happily.

"Oh- Hehe I'm Dahlia."

Aster then goes on to shake Simon's hand and...

Aster's smile disappears...

Simon's star is still there but it's... weak, flickering away like a flame that is about to go out at any second

Aster feels a pain in their chest...

If hopelessness was a tangible thing, it would be Simon.

Aster let's go of the young man's hand, his eyes are downcast and he's frowning like he's about to cry.

He looks up to Simon and just says "I'm so sorry"

...

So needles to say our boy Simon is terrified thinking this weird kid Asha found in the woods predicts he's gonna die in 7 days or something.

(That’s it, that’s the face he's making. lmao.)

Simon gives Asha a panicked look, and she seems just as confused as him.

"Hey Aster?" Asha calls his attention placing a hand on his shoulder, the star turns to her curious "Did you uh- Pay for these flowers?"

Aster tilts his head to the side "What's pay?"

("At All Cost" ruined me, because every time I re-read this line my mind goes "What's pay? When I look at you no way-" and that's so funny to me)

Simon who happens to be the son of a cop the captain of the royal guard becomes even more suspicious of Aster, knowing this guy just STOLE something and then played innocent.

Asha just smiles at that comment and patiently explains to him "Okay, now you gotta put these back where you found them, can you do that please?"

Aster's smile returns as if it never left "Got it! I'll be back in a sec!"

Aster runs with an almost inhuman speed, leaving the three friends in an awkward silence

Simon breaks that silence.

"… Where did you find that guy?"

"And where can I find one for myself?" Dahlia asks as she watches Aster run off.

Simon: "What?"

Dahlia: "What?!"

This time, Asha kinda gives them a half truth

"Well... Let's just say Aster was at the right place at the right time... And he helped me feel better" That's technically true.

Simon looks very dissatisfied with that answer though

"... So you spent the night with a stranger in the woods?"

"Not a stranger though!" Aster pops out of nowhere behind Simon,

"OH GOSH-" Simon almost has a heart attack,

Asha realizes the longer Aster keeps talking with other people the more suspicious they'll seem, so she just grabs him by the arm

"Great talking to you two but we reeeeally gotta get going. So tell the others I'm fine, we'll be at the main plaza if you need me!" She says already running while dragging Aster with her.

The star boy is just happily waving them goodbye as he's dragged away by the arm. "Bye Dahlia! Bye Simon!" he exclaimed excitedly

"... Soooo how much do you wanna bet she actually just wished for a boyfriend?" Dahlia asks

(Dahlia is a self insert of me at this point, her lines are what I'd say in this situation)

Simon kinda ignores Dahlia's comment as he realizes something odd "Wait ... I never told him my name, how did he know I'm "Simon"?"

We cut to Asha and Aster in an alley.

“Okay, we need to talk" Asha begins, looking at the star boy seriously "If we're really gonna do this, we gotta establish some ground rules."

"Sure! We stars are all about rules!" The star says, sitting on some barrels while kicking his feet.

She begins listing the rules:

"So rule number 1: You can't run off without me, you gotta stay close to me at all times."

"Done!"

"Rule number 2: You gotta act as HUMAN as you can, that means do what I do, and use NO magic at all."

"Oh you don't have to tell me twice, that's a rule I already HAVE to follow as a wishing star anyway"

"And rule number 3: ..." She stops to think for a moment "Umm... I feel like there should be a third rule but I don't know what"

"I know! Rule number 3:... LETS HAVE FUN!" Aster exclaims with a beaming smile as he holds her hand and walks with her out the alley "You don't need to worry about a thing! I'll stay with you at all times. All you gotta do is focus on inspiring everyone with your music!"

Asha looks at the mandolin in her hand. She's honestly not sure if she'll be able to make any difference... But if she can make at least a few people consider getting their wishes back so they can grant it by themselves... Then it'll be worth it, because then they can start something.

She feels her hope returning, as a confident smile grows on her lips and a fire burns in her eyes.

"Yeah, and I know just the song for it!" She starts running faster, and soon she's the one who's in front, dragging Aster by the hand...

Aster can see Asha's star, and he looks at it with eyes full of what can only be described as disbelief and a passionate admiration.

Her wish was taken from her, just like Simon's, but Asha was different.

Unlike Simon, her light refused to burn down, her old wish was replaced by a new one, that shined just as brightly.

A star that wants to shine upon others and give them joy, guidance, something to believe in... To Aster, her glow was the most beautiful one of all... And when he looked at it he felt...

Actually, he couldn't describe it... It's still a feeling he can't put into words.

So for now, he doesn't know what tangible emotion Asha is.

But he'll probably find out eventually.

They both reach the plaza. There's a water fountain at the center of it, a few people are walking around and talking, but there's not much of a crowd.

Asha takes the mandolin and starts singing a song... Based on a poem her father wrote:

A Wish Worth Keeping

[Verse 1] Take it from someone like me When your hopes are in despair If your desires have strings Free them, give them some air

[Chorus] 'Cause any wish that's got your heart On the edge of breaking Is a wish worth keeping

[Verse 2] Yeah, everybody dreams To be something someday somewhere Even kings and queens Daydream to be free from their royal chairs

[Refrain] Well, any dream that's got your heart Even when you're not sleeping Is a drеam worth dreaming

[Bridge] Yeah, we all start as wildlings Playing in thе sun Then we grow up with wild dreams Just waiting for our day to come

[Verse 3] So if hope schemes against time

Tell them, "be nice, play fair" Yeah, they may kick and cry, yeah But just show them they're better when paired

[Refrain] 'Cause if they both can hold your heart There's no way you're not sowing A dream that will never stop growing

[Chorus] Yeah, any wish that's got your heart On the edge of breaking Is a wish worth keeping...

It's a poem her father wrote to encourage people to not give their wishes to Magnifico, but instead keep their wishes and fight for what they dream of. In this moment, she's playing her grandfather's mandolin, while wearing her mother's cloak and singing a poem her father wrote, it's like they're all there with her.

Asha sings in a more festive rhythm than the original "Wish Worth Making" from the Wish soundtrack, it's a song that makes people want to join in and dance with Aster, who's bringing in people around the plaza to join in.

And among these people there's also Asha's friends, they seem happy for her but also confused. Since when did Asha play the mandolin? And who on earth is that guy with her?

As Asha plays, she and Aster share a little duet in the third verse of the song, as if Aster also knows the poem too. Asha looks at the star dancing with such energy, doing literal backflips, twirls, jumping all over the place, bringing in people to dance with him and just being himself like no one's watching.

And for the first time, she actually feels her heart bumping faster by looking at the star, and not because they're a literal star or because he scared her by popping out of nowhere... but because he's himself.

(Yup, that's when she fell)

Everything is going well, Aster can even see the stars inside some of the people in the crowd shining brighter...

It's actually working.

Some of the younger people are actually considering not giving away their wishes, and others feel like maybe going after new wishes by themselves.

Aster moves with even more energy now... His eyes are closed.

Asha also has her eyes closed, lost in the moment as she plays the song.

The sky is full of thick grey clouds, the sun was nowhere to be seen.

If only Aster's new friend Sunny could've warned him who was coming.

Aster is spinning around quickly with his eyes closed and-

"OUCH!"

Aster bumps on someone and falls on the floor.

Asha hear's him falling and opens her eyes, she looks up to see who he bumped into...

She instantly stops playing.

Her face is horrified, and she quickly covers herself more in her mother's cloak.

Valentino who was hopping around also sees who it is and hides behind Asha's legs.

Aster is just laughing on the floor, still high on the adrenaline, their eyes are still closed as he laughs so he still hasn't seen who's right in front of him...

But he can tell that he just bumped on a man taller than him.

"Hahahaha sorry sir, I wasn't looking at where I wa-" Aster looks up...

Oh no.

“No problem at all, little one. Are you alright?”

The king and the queen are standing right in front of Aster.

It’s quite unusual to see them just out and about in a normal day, so the few people around start mumbling among each other.

… Aster doesn’t have a heart but somehow he could feel something in their chest sink as he looked up at the two monarchs…

He could see what they wanted, but to be honest the magic in his eyes wasn’t even necessary for him to see it, they looked down on him with the eyes of two hyenas staring at their next meal.

They wanted him... They knew what Aster was.

The star is just looking up to them with wide eyes like a deer in headlights.

“Here, let me help you.” Magnifico extended his hand to help them get up.

Aster knew very well what would happen in he touched that hand, and he was not looking forward to see what the king was like on the inside…

But then again, he promised Asha he’d act like a human, and most humans in Rosas would gladly shake the king’s hand, right?

So… Aster reached out for it, and once he touched it...

Aster had to hold in a gasp.

…

That is NOT a star.

See, Aster actually had heard from the other stars that there are many different kinds of people on earth.

There are those who are stars. Those who shine upon others by inspiring them, and make their own glow through their own actions. Like Asha.

There are those who lost their spark, those who no longer have hope or dreams to follow, they’re fading stars. Like Simon.

And then.

There are black holes.

Do you know how a black hole is formed?

They’re formed when a star dies.

Black holes have a gravitational pull that sucks in all the light around them, leaving nothing behind.

And in Aster’s eyes, Magnifico was a black hole.

Stealing away the light of all the stars around him.

Aster had heard that people who become black holes were very hurt in their lives, and thus their star died completely.

But Aster knew better... Magnifico choose to be this way, and he loves it.

He loves to pull others in only to steal their light away...

Aster felt disgusted.

... If selfishness was a tangible thing, it would be Magnus.

As the king pulls him up Aster's is glaring at him, no longer looking scared...

He's angry.

His brow furrowed, his pupils shrunk and his jaw was clenched. He was almost shaking.

It was like he was holding himself to not just jump on this man and punch him.

... Magnifico is content with this reaction.

From what he read, he knew that stars had "Eyes that see the truth", so Magnifico knew that the star could see who he really was.

With that in mind, his grip tightened on Aster's hand.

"Are you hurt at all, lad? You seem to be in pain or something." The king asks referring to the scowl on Aster's face, in a tone that for everyone else watching may sound like concern, but both Aster and the king know it's a mockery.

Aster actually didn't even realize he was scowling, he's just not used to hiding his emotions... But it surely not a "Normal human behavior" to glare at the KING after he just helped you up, is it?

So Aster takes a deep breath and... Smiles.

"I'm quite alright your majesty, just felt a bit dizzy from all the dancing hahaha" He laughs to himself.

Aster may not be the best liar but he is a surprisingly good actor.

"Ah I see." The king says as he let go of Aster's hand, he's now looking down on the young star with a friendly smile "And what a dance that was indeed. Why, we saw you two from our window and we just HAD to take a closer look."

Aster felt a stab of guilt... It's his fault for bringing too much attention.

"I don't think we've met this little rose in our garden before." The queen chimes in sweetly, reaching her hand to caress Aster's face "What's your name, my flower?"

Aster quickly takes a step back, escaping the queen's touch as if he's dodging a bullet.

"Ah- I- My name's Aster!" They stutter, the star really didn't want to be touched by this lady, who knows what he'd see inside HER soul.

Aster tries his best to pull it together, the star knows what to do, he has watched from above how people act around the royal couple. So all he had to do was mimic that behavior.

The young star bows down with one hand on his chest

"I'm humbled that our performance has caught your majesty’s attention. It's a great honor to meet your graces in person." The blonde spoke so eloquently no one could ever guess he's screaming internally.

The king and queen seemed pleased as they exchanged a quick glance to one another... This was going to be fun.

"What an eccentric partner you've got here, Asha" Magnifico says with a calm voice, now looking at the girl sitting by the water fountain, trying her best to hide her face with the hood of her mother's cloak...

… They recognized her? How?

"Aww and how lovely, you're wearing Sakina's cloak aren't you? It fits you so perfectly." The queen said, answering her question as if she could read Asha's thoughts.

Oh yeah... She forgot they knew her parents...

Asha gets up and takes off the hood, trying to act natural like Aster did.

"Thank you, your highness... I didn't expect we'd meet again so soon" she HOPED they wouldn't meet again so soon.

"What a nice surprise though, isn't it?" The king says casually "But speaking of last night... You've never mentioned you played any instruments Asha, I thought your only interest was drawing."

"I-I just didn't see any reason to comment, I'm still practicing is all" She says holding the mandolin close to her

The king chuckles at that "Now now don't be so modest my dear, you played so beautifully it almost seemed like..." he turns his gaze to Aster as he finishes with a knowing smile "Magic."

And with that, Asha realized what Aster already knew since the moment he saw the couple... They knew.

Somehow, they know Aster is a star.

The two teens are thinking the same thing, they gotta run.

Aster begins to walk backwards towards Asha as he says in a not so subtle nervous voice

"Aaaanyway, thank you so much for coming but I'm afraid there'll be no encore, we gotta take a break and-and it looks like it's gonna rain so-"

"Aw leaving so soon?" The king interrupts with a sad tone "We've got a bit of a crowd here. I believe this is as good a time as any for me to share two VERY important announcements... You both should stay and listen, I think they might be of interest to you." He says walking closer to them, to which Aster grabs Asha's hand and they both start moving away.

"O-oh sure the crowd is all yours. We're just REALLY in a hurry." Aster says while still walking backwards, keeping eye contact with the king with a forced smile.

"Hmm" The king hums while tilting his head to the side "Very well then, I'm sure the news will catch up to you two... Sooner than you think." He whisper that last sentence while looking at Asha with that same knowing smile.

And on that note, Aster and Asha just run out of there, leaving some very confused citizens staring at them. Including Asha's friends.

Magnifico follows them with his eyes with a confident and relaxed gaze... He can grab them later, now, it's time to set the stage.

"ALRIGHT! My people, please gather around!" The king says as he hits his staff on the ground teleporting him and the queen to the top of a stage in the plaza.

(Let’s say the stage looks like this… Disneyland stage… But I’ll not be counting this as a reference because that’s kinda reaching at this point.)

More people around the plaza come closer to see what this is all about.

Meanwhile Asha and Aster hide in a alley to hear what the king has to say.

The king begins loud and clear

"Now, I know you are all wondering about that little light last night-"

The crowd cheers, assuming the light was a gift from the king.

"... A light I did not command nor condone." He corrects their assumption

The smiles on his people's faces deflated

"As a matter of fact, that light wasn't even from this world... It was a THREAT from beyond our skies." Magnifico explains with a serious gaze as he summons a book with his staff, the book floats next to him as the pages flip.

"A threat that my family has dreaded for generations. A being that comes down to earth and consumes all the hope, joy and love they can find..." The book stops on a page showing the illustration of a wishing star individual, with golden hair. The drawing seem to have been altered though, to make the entity look more ominous.

"A fallen star. This VILE creature is hiding among us. They can take a human form, gain your trust, make you feel all happy and warm inside even, BUT DON'T BE FOOLED!" The king exclaims warningly as he shuts the book "They're after ONE thing... Your wishes." He says menacingly, pointing at the top of the castle in the distance.

All the citizens look horrified, mumbling among each other, fearing for their wishes and themselves.

Among the crowd there's Asha's friend, they're all scared but Simon seems specially concerned.

The king lets the fear sink in for a few seconds before he switches back to his upbeat friendly king persona.

"BUT HEEEEY! Relax! No need to panic ladies and gentleman. As always, you can trust in me to keep you, and your wishes, safe and sound. This star may be powerful, yes, but their magic is no match for me!" He illustrates his point by creating a light show with his staff, creating fireworks and briefly a dragon made of green magic.

The crowd cheers and claps, trusting Magnifico wholeheartedly.

Aster and Asha are just watching all this play out, hiding away in a nearby alley.

Aster is going through a lot of emotions, scared of what might happen if the king does capture him, angry at himself for not keeping an eye out like he promised he would, and sad that all those people just took everything the king said as gospel.

His animation (That is now 3D, but with a different frame rate depending on how he feels) becomes more laggy and jumpy, like he's not in control of his own body movements as he speaks.

"I didn't think he'd know what a wishing star IS. Had I known this was a possibility I would've NEVER suggested for us to get exposed like that... I'm sorry Asha" They apologize for something he couldn't have predicted.

"It's not your fault." Asha reassure him holding his hand "...But when we were playing, did you see if anyone changed their minds?" She asks curious.

"... Yeah, actually... I could see some sparks of hope! I could tell some people considered granting their wishes by themselves..." He says, calming down a little, his animation going back to somewhat normal.

Asha felt relieved by that, at least they did a little bit of a difference...

But that wasn't enough, they had to actually MAKE a difference, and the only way of doing that was by showing everyone the truth, and proving what was happening with their wishes, if only Asha could show them-

Wait... The king and queen... They're not in the castle right now...

Asha has an idea.

She holds Aster's hand tightly and starts walking out the alley, going through the plaza.

King Magnifico and Amaya are still there, he's answering a few questions about the glow and what people should do.

He follows the two of them with his eyes for a moment.

"Woah- hey I thought we were gonna run away from here." He says quietly to her, trying to keep up the pace.

"No. Come with me.” Asha starts running, pulling Aster with her.

They’re running towards the castle.

“O-okay so what's the plan now?”

“I'm tired of running away from them." Asha says determined

"Huh?"

She points at the castle.

"My wish, and the wishes of dozens of people in Rosas are in there. We can sneak in while those two are outside, then we can grab my wish and as many others as we can." Her eyes have a burning passion as she runs with Aster just in toe holding her hand.

"... Wait, but isn't that pretty much my first plan from yesterday? What changed?"

"What changed is that Magnifico and Amable aren't in the castle..." She thinks for a moment, then she looks back to Aster and gives him a thankful smile "And also, you've shown me that I CAN inspire people, I CAN show them the truth, we can do this together!"

Aster's eyes sparkle in awe when he sees her face.

She continues, now looking at the castle with no doubts left in her "We can even grab some wishes that they changed and show to their owners, to use as proof of what the king and queen are doing!"

Aster can see Asha's star shinning even brighter than before, a huge smile grows on his face.

"That's brilliant!" Aster lets go of her hand and starts running faster than her “Then let’s go! Last one there is a dusty nebula!”

The two are now racing to the castle, with Aster running considerably faster than Asha.

Both hopeful that they'll succeed.

...

They're far, but the king can still see them in the distance. He smiles.

It's adorable how she thinks she can actually change anything.

Asha and Aster don't hear as the king says to his people:

“Now… My second announcement is about this veeeery special wish that I’ve received last night...” he says with a smirk.

He summons a green orb in his hands.

He holds it, in a way that no one can see what's inside the wish yet.

"My dear people, as you all know, nothing in this life brings me more joy than making ALL your wishes come true- Well, that is aside from my beloved queen." He says giving the queen a passionate glance and kissing her hand.

"Oh you!" She giggles.

"However, yesterday something quite... Unfortunate happened, and I had to do something I swore I'd never do... I denied granting a wish." Some citizens gasp in surprise, thinking someone must have wished for something really bad

Asha's friends look surprised at that, they already suspect whose wish this is.

"I know, I know, shocking, yes. It was a wish that just- Well-Surprised us, really, I wasn't sure if I could allow it..." He looks down on the wish with a introspective gaze "But after putting some thought into it, I realized: Isn't this kingdom all about dreams coming true? No matter how outlandish they may seem? Well I say YES. That's what MY Rosas is all about!" The king announces passionately.

"So we decided to do something new... For the first time in my reign... We're getting a PUBLIC WISH GRANTING CEREMONY!" He exclaims. This is a big deal, Magnifico never granted a wish in front of people, only at night while they sleep.

The green gem in his staff glows…

Creating a huge hand made of green magic.

“I’ll just grab our lucky winner real quick, so we may get started.” The king says wearing a huge grin.

His predatory eyes are fixated on Asha running after Aster in the distance.

...

Aster was right about one thing.

It does look like it's gonna rain.

Chapter 10

Final Thoughts

... Soooooo yeah hahaha, we're getting to some INTENSE stuff in the next chapter, buckle up.

But about THIS chapter though, those sure were some good vibes at the beginning, huh? Aster getting to see the kingdom, giving Asha flowers, they promise to stay togetheeeer, and then they sing and daaaance and then Magnifico shows up and the good vibes are gone.

Like... I'm really proud of my work with him as a villain, like, if you're writing a character and YOU dread getting to the scenes that he shows up, you KNOW you're doing something right... I think, you tell me, how did you feel when he popped up?

I'm REALLY proud of how this chapter turned out in general. The idea of Aster seeing humans as tangible emotions just HIT ME one time when I was listening to "At All Cost" for the 1000000th time, and it just fitted perfectly with everything.

Shout out to @gracebethartacc I made Magnifico call Aster “little one” in your honor… And he’ll do it often.

Oh and one more thing, you may have noticed I'm implying that it's gonna rain... Yeah I'll just say one thing about that: