4. Tiansi's gentle kiss

“I wish I had more time to get ready,” Tiansi sighed whilst gazing upon her house-sized closet. The gala dress section contained countless types of dresses in every shade of colour humans have named.

Suddenly, the Earth stopped spinning, clouds stopped moving, hearts stopped beating and the clocks stopped ticking. The world had adhered to her wish and granted her, and her alone, more time to get ready.

Tiansi never saw her supernatural wishing powers as anything other than ordinary. If she wished for it, it should come true.

It always should, she believed.

“Sir Achird, I wish you fell in love with me. Deeply. Passionately. Endlessly loyal as you are to the land of Cassiopeia.”

He was kneeling with his head bowed down, as he always did in the presence of Her Majesty.
“I’m flattered, Queen Tiansi.”

Flattered, he truly was, but more than that he would never be. Tiansi understood this, yet refused to yield. Ever since they were children, she had been wishing for it aloud, but this was one of those rare cases where her wishes wouldn’t come true. Not even after twenty years of trying.

Recently, she had discovered another.

“I wish to have it,” she had said to the world in response to Prince Regulus.

“…Heavens,” he deeply sighed.

Listening to him for once, she raised her head toward the sky, “Heavens, you say? I wish to have that as well.”

“Is there anything you don’t wish to have?” Regulus sarcastically remarked.

“Illness.”

That’s how her awkward interaction with Regulus came to an end.

It had been a couple of days since then. She still wished to have the land, but she also had yet to strategize and talk to anyone about it.

“Queen Tiansi, the crown prince of Aquilla requests an audience,” her guard notified her.

That was the first time someone had initiated a conversation with her this month. To make it even sweeter a deal, it was to tell her someone had requested to talk with her.

“Yes, tell them that Queen Tiansi is ready and waiting.”

Altair entered the parlour decorated in material more expensive than his entire castle. He managed to mask his awe and walked in with a neutral expression.

“Who might you be, young man? You wouldn’t be the first person to fall in love at first sight with my unmatched beauty, you’d be the millionth on the dot. Unfortunately, I fear you’re a little too young for me. That reminds me, when I was young I loved watching the sun sink into the Silver River. You’re young, do you enjoy doing that?”

Before Altair got a word in, she found something else to ramble about.

“Have you noticed the new window decorations? Personally, I’m very fond of both the colours and the designs. Oh, of course they don’t exactly appear new to someone who didn’t have the opportunity to see what it looked like before. Right—"

“—Queen Tiansi, I need your help.”

This was the first time in what felt like forever that someone had requested her aid.

“…Go on, young man.”

“I figured out what the starless night is and I need your help to make it happen. Since your powers already involve wishes, is there anything I could do to make you give up on the Land of Stars and aid me in stopping Regulus?”

She hadn’t thought of it like that yet. A magical land that adheres to her wishes is no different than Cassiopeia—most of the time.

“There is something I wish for that even my powers can’t grant,” she admitted.

“If it’s within my powers, I’ll do anything.”

“Fall in love with me. Deeply. Passionately. Endlessly loyal. Create a family of nine children, one for each letter of Cassiopia…” She lowered her chin, “…And cure my heart so we can grow old together.”

Deeply devoted to saving human lives, his eyes grew concerned, “You have a heart disease?”

Tiansi took bold steps forward towards Altair, reaching for his hand and placing it firmly atop her chest.

Looking away, Altair gave her a full view of his flushed cheeks. Once his focus shifted to her heart, he noticed she had no pulse.

“So, how are you alive?” He bluntly asked.

“Every night before I fall asleep, I wish to live another day. Every day.”

“Couldn’t you just wish to grow old instead?”

Tiansi, still holding onto his hand, replied, “Would you feel safe enough to fall asleep without a secure promise of tomorrow? I don’t want to die. If no one falls in love with me soon, I might wish to be eternalised into the starry night. Maybe I’ll go ask Regulus about how that works next time.”
Altair bit his lip, “Don’t cast it away.”

“Hm?”

“Don’t cast your life away. If you help me now, I promise I’ll travel across the entire Silver River with you to find you the perfect husband.”

That was yet another one of her wishes that never came to fruition, an intimate promise.

“Do you promise?”

“I promise,” Altair held up his pinkie, which Tiansi didn’t understand.

She closed her eyes, pulled her hair behind her ear and gently kissed his finger.