All She Had Were The Stars Pt. 2

Celeste

Celeste was looking out the window in Leonardo’s spare bedroom. Leonardo had brought her to the city. It was called Charleston, he’d said. 

It was late now, for the sun had long gone to bed. The city was glittering like stars. There was a strange emotion filling Celeste’s heart. She didn’t recognize it as much. But then she stirred through her vague memories and figured it out. 

Happiness. 

Leonardo

Leonardo slipped through the silent halls. His parents were out of town for the weekend, and since he was seventeen, it was no problem leaving him home alone. 

There she was, staring out the window. It had been a few days since the cloud-horse, Utara, had chased the villains away. They were preparing to go to London, where Celeste said she had lived before. 

Now her accent made sense. She said she could try to place a memory spell on his parents. Leonardo had come to realize she could do magic. Time travel, memory spells, energy draughts. She said she was a sorceress, that was what her family was. 

When he’d shown her as much as he could about the new world, she’d been surprised. He’d pointed out airplanes, cars, his television, and yet, it was electricity that fascinated her the most. 

To quote “You are telling me that if I flip this switch, it will light up the room with fire that isn’t even fire?” 

Leonardo had smiled. Now he hovered at the doorway. She was awake, wearing a nightgown. Celeste had a small bag that was cavernous and could hold many things. He’d glimpsed clothes, undergarments, and books in there. So that was what they wore in the 1820s. Celeste had firmly told him that her family didn’t allow corsets, and her dresses were less extravagant than those of other women in the 1820s. It was part of her culture, the beautiful simplicity. He still had many questions. 

He stared at her pale hair. It was beautiful. You would expect it to be just one color; white. But it wasn’t. It was cream and ivory and silver and pearl, and even a few strands of blonde. It was part of her magic blood, the peculiar color of her hair. She also had very big eyes, eyes as luminous as a doe’s with thick eyelashes. They were light purple, the color of a lavender candle his mother liked to burn. 

“Celeste.” he said, his voice carrying across the dark, quiet room. He sat next to her on the guest bed. 

“Yes?” she said, staring at him. “Fur Elise” began to play softly in his head, which sometimes happened when he stared straight at her. 

“I’ve learned a lot about you recently, but how do you get sorceress blood?” 

Celeste said calmly. “The Angel of Light blesses us at birth. She looks at you from Heaven and decides to bless you or not. Sometimes she blesses ones who are from nova families. nova is the term for non-sorcery people. Usually it’s one whole family or bloodline. Like the Seagrasses, my family. And my old love was one too. A sorceress.” 

Leonardo nodded. “I see. But, am I special?” 

“Yes.” Celeste’s mouth tipped up into a grin. “You are a sorcerer, which is rare for all-nova parents. Since you do not come from a known sorcerer family, you are more incognito. And you will not be hunted.” 

Celeste

She was glad she could say that. Celeste now had a partner. And she admired Leonardo, for his unknown knowledge, knowledge he didn't knew he had of this modern world. He didn’t know it was a good skill to have. How could he, for he had grown up in that world and knew nothing different. 

Leonardo sat closer, until their shoulders were touching. “Sing to me, for you know many songs of old.” he said. 

Celeste grinned. “I shall sing one by Shakespeare, called ‘Bid me discourse’. He was half-sorcerer too, you know. Just one stanza.” He was already getting better at talking less modernly.

Leonardo

Celeste had a sweet, clear singing voice, and she had sung for him before. But it still took his breath away. 

“Bid me discourse, I will enchant thine ear,

Or, like a fairy, trip upon the green,

Or, like a nymph, with long dishevelled hair,

Dance on the sands, and yet no footing seen:

Love is a spirit all compact of fire,

Not gross to sink, but light, and will aspire.” she sang. Leonardo listened to her, closing his eyes. 

“Did you like it?” she asked when finished. 

“Yes,” he replied. 

She leaned over and kissed his cheek. She did that a lot, he suspected it was something her family had done in the 1820s. Leonardo hoped it could eventually mean something more. 

He ran a hand through her hair and whispered, “Have you finished packing for tomorrow?” 

She nodded. “I will perform the spell. It is in Greek, not English.” 

Celeste scooted over and entered her zone. She said in a mystical voice that suited her “Ángelos tou fotós, metamorfóste tis anamníseis ton gonéon tou Leonárnto kai kánte tous na pistépsoun óti o gios tous eínai sto kolégio se mia apomakrysméni topothesía. Parakaló kánte to étsi óste kanéna állo xórki, allá to dikó mou den boreí na to anairései. Sas efcharistó.” 

A glow lit up Celeste’s hair for a moment after the spell was done. Though the language was unknown to him, the way Celeste lilted it in her angelic voice was beautiful. 

She smiled. “They think you are at college, and in a remote location. We can lift the spell when we have defeated the Mafia, or the Rose Blood. It’s a group of mercenaries, essentially. Ready to go to London?” 

Leonardo nodded. “I am.” 

They picked up their bags and stepped outside. Celeste whistled, and Utara erupted from the sky from the north, a beautiful stallion made entirely of clouds. When they got to London, Leonardo thought, he was going to ask her about the cloud-horses. As they sailed through the clouds, Leonardo knew there was no going back to his old life, where he was the ugly boy no one liked. 

No, he was a sorcerer. 

*Author’s note: Celeste is saying “Angel of Light, transform the memories of Leonardo's parents and make them believe that their son is in college in a remote location. Please make it so that no other spell, but mine can undo it. Thank you.” in Greek. *