Arcturus found himself staring at scarlet fluff. He was confused for he wasn't sure why his mother was sitting in front of him while rubbing her pregnant belly. She had a gentle smile as she kept rubbing it.
"Arc, did you know that when you were in my stomach, a fortune teller touched my belly and told me your fortune. She told me that you were going to be a child of good fortune. Whatever you'd accomplish, you'd succeed. However, there would be one drawback to your path of success: a lack of attachment. Even if you succeed in life, your lack of attachment will be the one thing that will hold you back from showing off your true potential. That is why I want you to have a sibling–so that you'd become attached to them; they'd help you understand what it means to love and protect. I'm sure that once you become attached, you'd learn how to become even more successful."
"Henrietta, do you think a five-year-old is going to understand all that?" Arthur remarked. Arcturus turned to see a gentle Arthur sitting on a chair while reading a book.
"Arc's a smart boy, so he'll understand in the future." Henrietta placed a warm hand onto his young head. "I know for a fact that he'll become attached to his sister once she's born. My intuition is always right."
When Arcturus blinked, he found himself staring at a crawling Ariel. She was smiling and babbling at the sight of him. Henrietta picked her up. "Arc, stretch your arms out."
Six-year-old Arcturus held his baby sister Ariel, who was almost one, for the first time in his life. He had found it an unusual sensation that there was such a tiny human in his arms. It was so unfamiliar that he started crying.
"What's wrong?" Arthur asked as Henrietta took Ariel back into her arms.
"She's weird, Daddy! She's so weird!"
"That's your sister."
"I don't want a sister! She's weird!"
"Well, that's too bad. Ariel's already here. We can't give her away."
Arcturus kept crying. In order to calm him down, Arthur picked him up and held him up so that they were facing each other. "Arc, will you listen to me?"
His soothing voice caused Arcturus to stop crying momentarily. The boy wanted to know what his father wanted to talk to him about. Arthur smiled. "Will you make a promise with me?"
"What's a promise?"
"A promise is something someone says to another person that they both have to keep. Let's say that we make a promise to care for Ariel. You have to keep it. I have to keep it. We have to change for the better to keep a promise."
"I don't think a six-year-old is going to understand that." Henrietta remarked, smugly.
Arthur pouted. "Our son is smart, honey."
He focused back on his young son. "How about it? Want to make a promise with me?"
"Okay."
Arcturus had remembered he had agreed to this promise because he was just an ignorant child and he just wanted to agree with whatever his father had requested because he was his parent and that he cared for him.
"Stick your pinky finger out." That was how Arcturus made his first promise.
When he blinked, Ariel was a small child holding his hand and smiling. He wasn't sure how old they were back then, but he did remember feeling warm when she smiled at him. Just seeing her innocent smile made him want to protect her. A thought came to him: had he been feeling this way because of the promise? Was his attachment towards Ariel something he deluded himself into thinking just so he'd understand what it meant to have an attachment to someone? Was he capable of love?
"Do you really love me?" A girl asked.
Arcturus turned around and noticed the scenery had changed. He was no longer a child with his sister, but a high school student in his uniform. He was sitting in a cafe's table across from a concerned girl with short brown hair accessorized with a cute yellow daffodil hair band. Her brown eyes were staring straight at him. She was Daffodil Henry, Arcturus's friend and ex-girlfriend. She happened to be the sole daughter and heiress of Henryships, the biggest airship conglomerate in the world.
"Excuse me?"
"I'm asking if you really love me…" She took a sip of coffee and awaited his answer.
Arcturus's thumbs twiddled as he hesitated to give her an answer. He had remembered feeling anxious at the time; he was thinking about whether or not to lie to her. They had been going out for a year and he had never told her he loved her. When she had asked, he would always reply with a yes and he did just that to her question.
Truthfully, he had felt nothing throughout their time together. He did like her as a friend, but it never grew. He liked her as much as he liked Ariel, his grandparents, his parents and his friends. He didn't want to tell her this as he didn't want to hurt her feelings.
Daffodil pouted. "You really don't. I can tell."
Arcturus's thumbs stopped as he held his head down. "Was it that obvious?"
"I know you don't really feel love for people. You like them, but that's on a neutral scale. Are you willing to put your life on the line for me if I was in danger?"
"I would."
"Why?"
"Because we're friends and I like you."
"Not because you love me. I'm not 'special'. I'm not your one and only. You like me as much as you like Landon." She sighed and leaned back against her chair. "I get it, now. I won't ever be someone special to you." Her face contorted into a hurt one.
He felt guilt for not being able to truly understand her feelings. "I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize. There's no need to."
Arcturus sighed. "I just want to be your friend, not your boyfriend."
"Alright. Let's go back to being friends. It'll be awkward, but I hope we continue to respect each other."
Arcturus nodded. Daffodil got up. She threw her coffee away and headed out, leaving Arcturus all alone. He stared at his own coffee mug. Just like how empty it was, there was an empty feeling inside of him and it concerned him. What worried him the most was whether or not he was considered weird for not being able to fall in love. He could tell he was definitely not normal.
"Arc, you are not weird at all."
He looked up and found himself sitting on his bed next to Kori. Kori was smiling at him. "It's perfectly fine if you don't love someone. I think that you're just waiting for your fated person to show up."
Hearing those words coming out of Kori's mouth made Arcturus chuckle. He couldn't believe a man-made being was lecturing him about fate and such. "Have you been watching soap operas with Grandma again?"
"I think they are fascinating. Who knew humans could be capable of being so animated even if it's pretend?"
"You know it's pretend yet you spew about fated ones?"
Kori looked up at the ceiling. "It's strange, isn't it? I'm a Shiftie, so I shouldn't believe in such things as fate. However, when I'm with you, I feel like it does exist. It was fate that I managed to exist. I feel like it was fate that brought me to you." He made eye contact and gave Arcturus a warm smile.
Kori felt so human to Arcturus that he'd often forget he was a Shiftie. When Kori had reassured him he wasn't weird, he believed him; he still did. Arcturus smiled as he thought about fates. While he wasn't a strong believer of fate, he found it a fascinating concept.
When he stood up, he found himself in a meadow identical to his Realm of Desires. He saw Nova standing in front of him. The wind caused his golden hair to dance around. Despite being engulfed by the wind, Nova's smile remained. The sunlight brightened his aura; while Nova was always beautiful in his eyes, the sunny atmosphere accentuated his beauty much better than the dim castle of ice. He wondered if it was because this dream was emphasizing it.
Nova reached a hand out. A strong resolution came to Arcturus: it was fate that brought him here and it was what got him to meet Nova and Souhait. He wondered what sort of relationship he would develop with them. Would it be one filled with romantic love or a bond stronger than titanium?
He wasn't confident about being able to love them, but he was confident in keeping his promise to be their friend and to protect them. That was his resolve, his determination. Treading the wind, he grabbed Nova's hand.
~
Arcturus found himself back in Castle Lavender's throne room. He felt rejuvenated. It had been months since he last had a good night's rest. When he got up, he felt confused on why he had been sleeping on Nova's lap. Realization came to him: he was sleeping on his lap.
His cheeks started flushing. Did I rest on his lap unconsciously? Wait, am I even capable of sleepwalking?
When observing Nova's sleeping form, he noticed his earring in Nova's hand. He was confused as to why it was there. Did he doze off after examining it? Remembering how Nova was fascinated with his bangle, he assumed Nova wanted a closer look at his earring. He imagined him fidgeting with it and he chuckled; he had conjured up a cute image.
He soon recollected everything that had happened in the Realm of Desires to the point that he took a peek under his shirt to see if his mark was there. With the help of the minimal light his bangle gave upon activation, he could see an apple tattoo on his chest. Since he did not pay for it in a tattoo parlor, he knew everything that had happened was real.
Souhait was real. His wish has been granted. A relieved sigh came out of him. It felt like a dream, but it wasn't. It was real. Although he was excited, a question abruptly came to him: what came next? What happened after his wish got granted? He needed to know. He tried waking Nova up, but there was no response. He slept so calmly and still that it looked as if he was dead. He leaned an ear against his chest to see if he actually had a heartbeat–he did. He pulled away and sighed. He wasn't sure what he should do in this situation. He was unsure how long Nova was going to be asleep.
He scanned his surroundings. The sculptures were gone, much to his dismay. He activated his bangle and still had pictures of each of them. He felt relieved having proof of their existence. His eyes glanced over to his bag and realized what it was he had to do above all else: write in his journal. He had promised Souhait.
Taking a deep breath, he opened a blank page, clicked his pen and started writing down everything that had happened to him after he had fallen down from the trap door.