The Star-bearer and his Companion

He stood barefoot in the pool, letting the cool water lap at his ankles. The water was the only cold thing about the night, though. The air was hot and heavy with enough humidity to choke a man, and the sea-spray of the coast only added the strong taste of salt to the air. The pool was possibly the largest body of freshwater closest to the coast, breaking the gardens it rested in apart into two sides, right and left. On the right, mostly flowering plants grew. Roses, hibiscus, poppies, bleeding hearts, lilies, gazanias, and countless more species that only his mother could name. To the left of the pool, tall bushes, trees, and ornamental grasses grew. He knew none of the species in the left garden, mainly because the left side of the gardens had been planted even before his mother was born. The sides weren't even; the left side was far larger than the right, including plenty of groves for one to sit down and read in and even a maze that he'd gotten lost in plenty of times as a child. The right side was his mother's addition. It was much newer, perhaps only ten years or so old, and didn't take up near as much room as the left side did. The pool was the smallest area of the gardens, maybe only 50 meters in length and width, although it curved and bended in sync with the land like a natural pond. Freshwater fish darted around each other in the deeper waters, and lilies and grasses grew along the edges where marble did not follow the perimeter.

The gardens were outside, allowing one to look up at the star-painted sky. An edge of the pool lined up with the edge of the rocky cliff they sat on, so he could gaze down across the city and out onto the black ocean below. There he stood barefooted in the pool, breathing in the humid air calmly. The night was silent, save for the occasional croak of a frog or bubble when a fish broke the surface. In the city below, the small lights flickered as the nightlife moved with their lanterns. Usually, lanterns lit the gardens as well, but he had blown them all out in order for his eyes to adjust in the dark. Dark a night it was, for no moon lit up the sky. Only stars speckled the clear blackness, rivaling greatly the dimly lit city lanterns below.

"Dyaus, are you looking for him?" A feminine voice asked. Her voice was quiet, coming from the perpendicular edge of the pool. He turned his head, looking at his sister's small figure from across the water, and gave a small nod. Although he couldn't see it well in the dark, he knew his sister would smile softly. He heard her remove her shoes and wade into the shallows of the water, lifting her dress to not soil it. She knew exactly where to place her feet in order to avoid the reeds and frog nests, and soon she was standing beside him. She was his youngest sibling, only sixteen, but one of his closest. Aside from him, she had been the only other to have see the Star-bearer.

"Look," She pointed into the sky, her finger tracing something that was no longer there. "A falling star. He'll go get that fairly soon, won't he? Before it hardens into gemstone."

He gave a nod. "He will. It will have crashed through the forest or mountains brighter than the brightest light you can think of, and scorching hot as well, but it wouldn't burn anything. It won't even feel hot when he approaches it, they are actually icy cold when touched. He will dim it so the light doesn't attract anyone, and then carry it back into the sky." It was easy for him to recall the process, as it was one they had done together for years. Fallen stars were marvels, things of myth, and he certainly wouldn't believe that it was real if he hadn't been with the Star-bearer himself. The stone they turned into was considered more precious than the king's life itself, considering numerous kings before his father had nearly forsaken it a couple of times trying to get it into their treasury. But when he joined the Star-bearer, he became the first man to ever own a piece of the precious stone. Subconsciously, his hand reached to the necklace draped along his neck, and caressed the colorless stone with a finger. The necklace wasn't the only stone of the precious gem he had, but it had been the first give the Star-bearer had given him, and the one he treasured the most. Everywhere he went he wore the necklace, but whether other believed it to be real or fake, he paid no mind.

Aside from the necklace, he used the stone to adorn a few things he owned or had crafted specifically for it. The hilt of his sword was the most obvious, speckled with small pieces of the gemstone along the cross guard and carved into a starburst on the pommel. Quite a few of the daggers he owned were blessed with the stone for decoration as well, and he had a few other pieces of jewelry crafted for the stone. His ceremonial cape was adorned with the stone, sewn into the silk in the design of the crest he took for himself upon partnering with the Star-bearer. To his sister, he had earrings crafted out of the stone, and to his brother, a sword with a gemstone pommel. His father received stones to place within his crown, and to his mother he gave the largest necklace and had crafted a circlet with the colorless stone inlayed in the metal with twisting designs.

His sister kicked a leg, splashing the water in his direction. She said, "When will you go back?"

"I don't know, soon I hope," He replied, closing his eyes as the water splashed at his face. He wiped it off, shaking the water on his hands at her. She yelped and dropped the skirts in her hand to cover her face. Scowling, she picked up the dress again, its rim soaked with pond water. She complained and pushed him, but he only laughed. "You should come with us for a night. It isn't always as frantic as I make it seem. Sometimes, very little stars fall and we have a chance to relax. I am sure he wouldn't mind you coming with us just once."

"I would love to, if mother would let me," She said, looking up at the night sky. Another star streaked across the sky, and she turned to look across at him. Hesitantly, she asked, "Brother, why are you not with him gathering the stars any longer?"

He waited a minute before responding. It was a long explanation, but no fault of his own thankfully. In truth, he himself wasn't sure why, but tried to explain it the best he could think of right now. "The Star-bearer tried to explain the politics and customs of his world to me before he left. They are strange and foreign, but from what I can understand, it isn't looked lightly upon when one of his kind befriends one of us. I assume it is some sort of treason, but when he tried to explain it further, that was there I got lost. He is important among his species, to his entire kingdom I gathered. If he should be allowed to partner with a human, why shouldn't the rest of his kind?" He said, looking at his sister and then turning his cyan gaze to the sky. A star fell in the sky in front of them, and he smiled as the distant flash of light headed in their direction. Before he could speak, the air grew even hotter and the light fell past their heads into the water, sending a wave over them. His sister gasped, and he looked through the crystal water, perfectly illuminated in white light as if it were day. The Star-bearer would arrive soon, and Prince Dyaus waited with a smile.