Grave silence echoed on the other side of the closed room. With extreme difficulty, I raised my right hand and rapped my knuckles on the door. Instantly my hand burnt with cramps and I had to drop it or it dropped itself limp. I held in a wince.

There was no response.

"Nova..." I called.

Nothing.

"Nova, come on. It's damn cold out here and my hands hurt and I am restricted from walking... and I..."

The door opened.

I smiled sheepishly and he moved out of the way, letting me in.

There was a peculiar vibe to the room. The curtains were closed. I saw an untouched plate of days-old food on the table, two empty bottles of wine, more rolling under the bed. The strong sensation of all the four elemental powers whirling around was enough to tell me that he was plummeting in a void.

Eleni had told me all that had happened, how Nova had screamed during the branding, trying to reject it... but the Throne was never wrong. We all knew he was the worthiest, but the timing couldn't have been worse.

I would pull an Orella if that's what he needed.

"You should be resting," Nova said with drunken gruffness in his voice, sitting on the edge of his bed.

"I was bored. Thought I'd come bore you with my boredom." I said, sitting on a chair around a circular table beside the closed window, close to the bed.

"I have company," he said, and pointed to the stacks of book on his nightstand.

"Give me one. Children's story preferably."

Nova rose up with a sigh and walked around the bed. He sorted through the books, and in the dimness, I couldn't see their titles. But one of the bold lettered-ones stood out distinctly... 'The History of Autumn Realm.' Huh.

He came back and extended a book to me, then realizing I couldn't possibly hold it, he sat down on the edge and showed me the title. 'Elemental Fairytales.'

I chuckled, "Really now?"

He shook his head, "Una hasn't read a book since she turned ten. This is all there is."

I made a mental note to have books sent to him from a better library, and maybe a... piano.

I wanted to pull the curtain and look at his face. But I was afraid to find him worse than the way I had found him merely ten days ago, tranced and unblinking after his two years of enslavement. Back then I had revived him with a potion, and now there was nothing one could do magically or alchemically.

"Why the Autumn Realm's history?" I asked, grasping at subjects to talk about.

"I... well, those were his last words." Nova simply said.

I sat up straight. "What?" Neo's last words?

"Autumn Realm awaits you - that's what he said before... he... well, I don't know. I wasn't sure of my next step, but I will accompany you... and figure out why he said that..."

"Hold on, Autumn Realm! Did he predict the future or something? Are you sure that's a good idea? Why didn't you say anything? This could be a trap... something really waiting for you there..." I panicked.

He cut me off, "I don't care. Nothing to lose anymore."

My heart sank as I felt the pain in his words.

"Alright. But you listen to me..." I warned, "Don't go looking for trouble until I am healed. You might be more powerful now... but that doesn't mean..."

Nova snapped his head at me, glaring, as if I had cussed at him.

"I can feel it, you know," I said, lowering my voice.

Just as I said it, the air grew violent and coldness gripped me. His voice turned heavier than it was, almost like a roar, "It's a mistake!"

"Yes and... no." I said, with my heart in my throat. He was unstable and I had no magic to protect myself, with my hands indisposed.

"It is. I sinned. I was supposed to be dead or my magic snatched from me. But instead, I was given this..." he hissed and on his right palm, all the four elements danced in a violent rhythm. I hadn't witnessed the Throne, but as I witnessed the Conqueror's powers, my head dipped down a bit on reflex.

However, in that ethereal glow, I took a good look at his face. Someone could have just stomped on my heart with a hammer, for he looked like a ghost. Beard a little too grown, eyes red and heavy-lidded, as if he slept irregularly, cheeks sunken, lips chapped. And I swallowed hard. This time Nova's spirit was truly broken and I cursed Neo in my head with the foulest of words.

"Nova, put it off. Don't let that bother you. The world was already in despair and it can stay so, for a bit longer, until the Conqueror is truly ready to Conquer it. Take some time for yourself, everything else can bloody wait."

"Why me, Doran? Why me? Una and Ralph are just as worthy... even Orel-" His voice was constricted and choked. The four strands of magic vanished.

I gulped. "It's... it's obvious, if you think about it. Everyone saw the flaws in this world after Eleni came into the scene or we'd still be blindly following the norms. But you, you always knew all the right from the wrong. You... were in love with a Fire Elemental, royals don't really go for inter-realm relationships, Nova. The Chief of the Eclipses told me how you were the only ruler she had trusted, how you funded her army. Even as the Second Son, you brought along a change, paved the way... without anyone being none the wiser. Most importantly, you won the duels all on your own merit, not... borrowed."

He let a long exhale out.

I leaned forward, "I am sorry, if you don't want to hear this right now, but you have to accept the fact that the Throne never makes a mistake... and you didn't sin. You made the hardest of the choice and removed the darkness. I think you were actually rewarded. You were and are the worthiest of all. And if the Throne chose you that only means, that it wants the same things that you want for the world."

Long silence followed, only his shaky breathing audible.

"Nova," my voice lowered, "when I lost Milan... I was the same. Locked in my room and father in his. We met for dinner downstairs and wallowed in our sorrows again. Alone. I'm not saying that it will all be fine... but it will get easier." I swallowed hard, "I miss my brother every day, every moment. But you simply learn to live with it. To live with the happy memories," I said, my own throat choking up.

Nova raised his troubled head, his hazel eyes shining in the dimness, as if remembering the day when I had cried after losing mother's paintings. I wanted him to cry too.

"You are the strongest person I met, Nova. Take some time to clear your mind. This is a lot. Una, Ralph and Angus are here to handle all your work, whatever that would be. And you have me. You always have me as a friend and as a... brother. You're not alone, never will be." I leaned forward in my chair, and raised a shaky hand, placing it on his knee.

Nova quickly put his own over it and steadied it. His cheeks sparkled with the tears he was shedding and I let him. But then, I felt a tingle of magic in my veins with his touch, and my hand strengthened a little. He had put a small healing spell on me, even through his deep sorrow, and I knew not another soul as selflessly kind as him.

When after a while, he wiped his face and sat up straight, I blinked my own eyes pushing back the moistness.

"You want to eat something?" I whispered, "Miss Joanna won't let me have meat. Sneak in some for me."

"I know what you're doing and no, not happening."

"Ugh, come on."

He sighed with a soft smile, "Okay steal a bite, then."

I grinned.

For the next hour, I watched him eat, open another wine bottle, and when he said he'd take a bath and get some sleep, I knew it was all momentary. It'd take a long time for him to be really normal, and well, he could take all eternity if that's what he'd need.

Because he was worthy of it all. And he'd change the damned world one day at a time, and we'd all be by his side.

***

I crashed into something... small, while finding my way to the rooftop. I grimaced internally, for my body shuddered with pain.

"Apologies." The young girl with two golden braids said, absent-mindedly.

"That's alright. I wasn't looking..." I nodded, and made to walk past her.

But then she squealed, startling me, "You are the Prince of the Summer Realm, no... Lord... Lord Doran, but Prince before." She dropped into a curtsy.

"Why, yes." I said, blinking.

People did know my name, then.

"I have read so much about you in the Summer articles that get smuggled in the Spring Realm. The portraits don't do you justice at all, Milord. You are ranked third in my list of favorite royals, you know." She smiled wide, but then bit her lip realizing she had spoken too much.

Spring Realm? Ranked third? Me?

"Honored, miss." I smiled, amused, but felt an unease looking at the black scar on her cheek, "Um, who might be the first, just out of curiosity?"

"The new High King, of course." She made a face, as if I had asked the stupidest question of all. Well, I felt stupid even for asking.

With a warm heart, I took her leave. Us royals really needed to prove our worth, for the sweet simple folks thought we were the ones who put stars in the skies and scrubbed the moon clean, but little did they know that we ourselves were royally messed like the entire of the Four Realms.

***

Rooftop had never been so beautiful. I was going to miss it, this Realm, with all its chilly snowflakes and bone-freezing ice. I shivered slightly, even through the thick furry long-coat I had adorned, over a white gown which had red flowers curled in vines like a spiral. A wave of warmth spread around me in the next moment.

He walked in through another entrance, a white overcoat slung over his broad shoulders and hair messy as always, looking much better than before. Doran came extremely close, making me gulp.

"To what do I owe this pleasure, Your Highness?" He said, in his ever-so playful silvery voice.

I simply pulled two chairs, which I had asked a maid to bring up and made him sit but he didn't oblige, saying he felt better with a temporary spell Nova had put on him. Fiddling, I put my hands between us and clasped the buttons of his overcoat, for the chill was a little too much under the starry winter skies.

"Your hands can be helpful for... many more things, you know." He whispered, innocently.

Red crept up on my face, while a deep laughter rumbled from his chest.

"You are so shy." He grinned, "One might think it's your first time. Not just with me, I mean."

I snapped my head at him, "What do you mean? It is... you are my first."

His brows shot past his hairline, "You're kidding."

I shook my head, then realized I definitely wasn't his first. He had it all, looks, personality, build and his beautiful heart. I should've shut up.

"You mean," he bent a little to my level, "I am your first... kiss?"

I nodded, looking at him through my eyelashes. The memory of my one and only kiss tantalized me. His gaze pierced my being, "That does flare my male ego, but also... how is that possible? Look at you, being all ridiculously sweet, breathtakingly gorgeous, and..."

I cut him off and decided to be open with him, "I... um... didn't have time. Rent, sister, job, and... didn't go to school where I presume one meets boys. I was homeschooled by father before he... well, and then by mother, who left too." Swallowing hard, I continued, "You know, I was a Vacant. Maybe it was quite clear to everyone for they never felt the magical pull from me. Sort of an outcast, only my workplace folks were... nice."

For a while, I only heard his breathing, while his face turned solemn. "Their loss, Eleni, because you are more than perfect, with and without magic," he said softly.

My heart warmed. Tiny snowflakes drizzled down, while we smiled at each other, as if the world had frozen and we were the only people, leaving us with no choice but to cuddle and start a fire.

I cleared my throat and took a small step back. "So, I have something to show you. Something you might like. Something you... missed before."

Doran's face dazzled with a smirk, and his gaze roved up and down my body. "Oh?"

I threw my hands up. "You know what, I changed my mind... I am going. Goodbye."

He laughed in his smooth husky voice, "A tantrum throwing Princess, hmmm..."

Shaking my head, I looked up at the sky and suddenly wondered whether I'd be able to do it again. Last time, I had been on a mountain, a bit closer to the skies than this rooftop of a palace. And what if I hurt Doran with my magic yet again? My gaze on his concealed scarred wrists under his coat.

"Are you okay with me using my magic, Doran?"

"Of course, you know I love it." He said as a matter-of-fact.

But the hesitation still gripped me.

"Oh, my beautiful starlight," he whispered, and raised his hand to caress a cold shaky knuckle against my cheek. I held his elbow, steadying his arm. He leaned forward and kissed my forehead, and looked into my eyes as if he'd drown in them, as if knew just what I had needed to hear.

I inhaled long and slow, as if he had chanted a spell and pressed my forehead against his, while my hands rose on our either side. I closed my eyes and let my magic... flow, thrive, waltz and awaken the infinite skies.

The stars smiled down at me. As if they had been waiting... Only for me to see them. Only for me to feel them. Only for me to guide them home. Only mine to make wishes on.

Doran must have felt it, for he pulled back. I watched him looking sideways and then at me, clearly sensing some rumble.

"Look up." I said, with a shy grin.

A star was sailing down. For him.

I swirled my fingers, guiding it home. There were many shooting stars tonight, but I just needed one, the size of my heart, the size of my heart that only throbbed for the man in front of me.

We stood silent, as the starstone took its time crossing the vast midnight space. And when it came close, I flattened my palm and it twirled down like a lazy red autumn leaf.

"You can summon stars now?" He whispered, like a secret. The firestone's glow reflected on his stunned face and I captured the moment in my heart forever.

Doran raised his hand again and with his shaky index finger touched the starstone's surface. "You were connected to Ralph, Una and even Nova. And I thought I didn't have the honor. But guess what, you are indeed my starlight." He chuckled to himself, shaking his head, "Destiny shit, this."

I giggled, extremely ladylike and loved how I sounded.

Doran muttered softly, his brown eyes shimmering, looking from the sky to the starstone on my palm, "I am going to paint this someday."

My breath caught in my chest. He was an artist!

"Please do," I said, with a shudder creeping up on my spine-what if he had really lost his hands? No. No. He was going to be healed. He was going to be healed. He was going to be healed.

Doran smiled, a bit restrained and blinked his eyes, as if coming out of a daze. "I... need you to pinch me."

"How about..." I raised myself on my toes and pressed my lips against his, surprising us both.

Dropping the starstone inside his overcoat's pocket, I loosely curled my arms around his neck. And we kissed, soft and slow, as if we had all the time in the world. As if it was just us in the world.

"I love you." He murmured against my lips.

My heart somersaulted. "And I love you."

Doran grinned, pulling back, "My starlight. Where were you my whole life?"

"In the wrong Realm." I chuckled, suddenly remembering something else, "And I am surprised you're ready to go to the Autumn Realm, Milord?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Then his eyes flew open, "Oh, right, the enmity. Forgot all about that for a moment there. Safe to say you have bewitched me thoroughly."

I beamed with delight, for the Summer Lord might not have healed if it weren't for the Autumn Healers.

Reminding myself to not pull him too close, too tight, for the desire was writhing in me, and I could only wonder what he was feeling, by the way he was looking at me with that fiery gaze.

"Is the Summer Realm going to be your last stop then?" He asked and pressed a feathery kiss on my cheek.

"Maybe." I whispered and pecked his constellation-like freckled nose.

Laughing and talking and losing ourselves in each other, we kissed and kissed, again and again, knowing there was hope and love in the long run ahead.

I had places to call home. People to call mine. Things to learn and accept. But for now... I only knew that this was peace and I would savor it, every moment, every heartbeat, as long as it would last.

This was exactly where I was born to be... at the end of an old world, and at the beginning of a new one.

Not all stars fall, not all stars glow, but only those which are different.

***